Nerves, drive, excitement: How 5 N.B. athletes prepared for their Canada Games debuts

Every athlete has a story. 

And the next chapter in the stories of hundreds of New Brunswick athletes will unfold in St. John's for two weeks this month at the Canada Summer Games.

The Canada Games are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter and spanning 30 different sports.

More than 4,000 athletes, coaches and support staff from across the country will participate in the Games in St. John's starting Friday.

New Brunswick is sending 355 athletes.

For some athletes over the years — sprinter Andre De Grasse, mountain biker Catharine Pendrel, Boston Red Sox player Abraham Toro and tennis player Eugenie Bouchard, to name just four — the Canada Summer Games have been a step on the way to international or professional competition.  

But for most who participate, the Canada Games are the highest level of competition in their sports careers. 

Here is an introduction to five New Brunswick competitors this year:

Grace Matchett, 16, of Riverview had a broken ankle when she found out she was on the women's baseball team. She did tryouts all winter but then broke her ankle playing school volleyball.

It took a lot of positive thinking and physiotherapy to recover.

"It was a lot about really strengthening my foot and getting back up to speed with everyone," Grace said. 

"But then also improving to be where everyone else was because they've improved longer than I had been on the field."

 Women's baseball is making its debut at the Summer Games.

"They've started to view baseball how my team and me and my coaches have viewed it for quite a while. … It's finally being given the recognition it deserves."

Rugby sevens, a shorter game featuring fewer players than rugby, is also making its debut at this Canada Summer