Callum's journey from a young grade 11 student to now a third-year varsity athlete with a resume full of accomplishments shows what a difference 5 years makes
When Callum Belshaw stepped on the Laurentian University campus for the first time in March of 2018, he was a young grade 11 student looking to play post-secondary baseball. Now five years later, Callum is a third-year Sports Administration student, a United States permanent resident, a semi-pro baseball player and a Paid Contributor for a well-known local blog, the Jays Journal.
Callum's unique journey begins after his grade 11 school year. His parents got offered a job transfer to the United States. He and his family then packed up and moved to a little suburb outside Nashville, Tennessee. Callum would spend two years in the small town of Brentwood, TN.
After moving to a new school in a new country in grade 12, he was left with the choice of continuing his life as a new US permanent resident or returning home to Canada for post-secondary. One thing did remain the same: he wanted to play baseball no matter where he went to school. This narrowed it down to a Junior College in the States or returning home to Canada to play OUA Baseball. The opportunity to play baseball and get a sports administration degree pulled Callum back to the same school he had toured just two short years ago.
When Callum started his first year in 2020, his whole first school year was online, and baseball season was cancelled. Callum, a passionate baseball player and fan since a young age, decided that he still wanted to be involved in some aspect of the game. So he reached out to the Jays Journal and applied to write blogs for them. He would go on to write 56 blog posts for Jays Journal.
After the pandemic settled and he competed in his first full season, Callum, along with 4 of his teammates, Matt Obradovich, Andrew Weber, Ethan Berube and Liam Socransky, were offered an opportunity of a lifetime. Through North Baseball, an organization providing cultural opportunities for North American ball players, the boys would travel Europe playing the sport they loved.
Along with their coach Kirby Smith, the boys embarked on a two-and-a-half-week trip around Europe, travelling, touring and playing baseball. Stops included Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany. When not playing baseball, they enjoyed experiences that playing in Canada didn't offer. Including visiting Hitler's nest and the Dachau concentration camp. On top of that, they did castle tours in Budapest, had an amazing race-type experience around Vienna, and had a beer at one of the oldest bars in Munich. On the field, the boys got to play nine games total against competition that featured former Minor League players to former NCAA athletes.
Callum explained that playing against that high level of competition helped him excel at a new level which he brought into his 2022 season.
When Callum looks back at the young grade 11 students, he thinks back to all he's done since then and how the experiences on and off the diamond have changed a person and as a player.
As he looks towards next season, he is hoping that with a Laurentian team composed of mainly returning players, and with the help of several recruits coming in, the team could make a run at a title next season.