‘We’re not settling for silver’: Conner Hopper makes Team Ontario softball expectations clear for Canada Games

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A huge team of 46 Ottawa athletes are set to compete at the St. John’s 2025 Canada Summer Games in Newfoundland. The Ottawa Sports Pages will be sending out a free daily email newsletter with recaps, previews and profiles throughout the Aug. 9-24 national youth multi-sport event.

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By Tyler Reis-Sanford

Conner Hopper is ready to do whatever it takes to bring home gold at the 2025 Canada Summer Games.

The last time Hopper was playing against such a high calibre of talent was in 2023, when he represented Team Canada in the U18 Men’s Softball World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico.

“Wearing Canada across your chest, there’s a real sense of pride,” says Hopper. “I have memories of singing the anthem before the games, standing in line with the boys. We put that jersey on and we know we have Canada’s back whenever we step out there.”

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Conner Hopper represented Canada at the 2023 U18 Men’s Softball World Cup in Mexico. *Photo provided*

Unfortunately for Hopper, his tournament came to an abrupt end in just his second game when he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for months. When sliding into first base, Hopper dislocated his shoulder while making contact with the first basemen. The injury took months of physiotherapy to get rehabilitated, and Hopper was left watching for the rest of the tournament as his fellow Canadians captured the bronze medal in a tightly contested 2-1 game against rival Team USA.

“I got injured in November, and I don’t think I was throwing again until late March,” recounts Hopper. “Head first slides, they kind of scare me. It’s always lightly in the back of my head, but thankfully I’m a feet-first slider now.”

Band work, weight training, taping and specialized warmups are all part of a regular routine to keep Hopper injury-free, and to keep from re-injuring his shoulder. The 20-year-old says that surgery is a possibility in the future, but right now he’s focused on his next task, helping Team Ontario win the Canada Summer Games.

“We’re not settling for silver,” underlines Hopper. “We’re a deep squad with a lot of talented guys. We’re going to put it all out there like we know we can. We just have to show up and perform.”

Whether he’s asked to play in centrefield where he’s most comfortable, or to change over to a position where he’s needed, Hopper says he’s ready to do whatever his coaches ask of him to help contribute.

He credits a large portion of his adaptability and coachability to the great relationship he has with his West Carleton Electric coach Adam Brown. Both Brown and Hopper have been a part of the same Electric team for more than a decade, and Hopper takes the lessons he’s learned from Brown wherever he goes.

“There’s so much trust between us,” highlights Hopper. “He still believes in my game, no matter what happens. If I get in a slump, he’ll still keep me high in the batting order. It gives me a lot of confidence.”

Most recently, Hopper, Brown, and the rest of the West Carleton Electric U20 squad won bronze at the Ontario Amateur Softball Association provincial tournament. After a nail-biting 14-13 win over the Stone Mills Thrashers, the Electric lost to the Chatsworth Longhorns, the eventual champions.

Hopper tallied a triple, a double and a walk in the loss, and was recognized for his efforts with an invite from the Plattsville Lightning to join their team for Softball Canada’s men’s U20 championship in Saskatoon. Hopper’s new mates went undefeated at 6-0 in the preliminary round but settled for the silver medal, after falling 6-4 to a familiar foe from Chatsworth.

Although Hopper is focused on the red and white jersey of Team Ontario this summer, he says he wouldn’t mind being tapped again to wear the maple leaf and represent Team Canada in the near future.

“I think the next big milestone after this is getting to represent Canada with the U23 team, hopefully sooner rather than later,” Hopper signals. “Oh, and playing more than two games this time.”

2 local players set for women’s baseball’s debut

Sixteen-year-olds Sophia Audet and Sofia Milks are set to be part of a historic tournament on the St. John’s diamonds for the inaugural Canada Games women’s baseball competition.

The sport is set to take centre-stage when host Newfoundland faces B.C. in an evening match on Aug. 18. It’s the lone event of the day, with the other week 2 sports getthing underway the following day, including Team Ontario’s opener against Quebec.

Women’s baseball is joining the Canada Games programme a decade after the sport made its debut at the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015.

Audet plays club baseball for the East Nepean Eagles, while Milks represents the Ottawa West Twins, with whom she won a Little League Ontario intermediate title in 2022.