This edition of Tales From the North has us hearing from Jordan Blake, a firefighter and world-traveller from Toronto who joined the North for a European baseball adventure.
Tell the people about yourself:
My name is Jordan Blake, I am a graduate from Seneca College and the University of Cincinnati. I played baseball throughout my college career and is where I learned about the North baseball. Professionally, I work as a firefighter, which I really enjoy. When I am not playing baseball or working, I play a lot of beach volleyball, travel the world, and like to go out with friends.
Where have you travelled with The North?
On my trip, we went to Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary.
If you could relive one day of your trip, which would it be and why?
One of the most memorable days of the trip (and of any trip I’ve been on) was one of our days on the German/Austrian border. The coaches brought us to the top of an incredible mountain and told us to bring our gloves. I was blown away when we started playing catch at the top. Between the incredible surrounding landscape and being with an awesome groups of guys, it was a truly memorable day! One that has inspired others travels and is one of the many days I could relive on that trip.
What did you learn about the European baseball community from your time with The North?
I did not know about how much baseball was throughout Europe. Some countries are smaller than others but there is a lot of baseball talent going through the continent, and I never would have guessed how big the baseball community was over there. The North helped me discover the amount of baseball opportunities there are around the world, and being a part of this strong and knowledgeable organization opened my eyes to what is out there.
How did your North travel experience compared to other travel you’ve done – whether it be solo or part of a group?
Travelling with the North was special. The biggest difference to other travels was the team atmosphere. Rolling with this team is unique because we were representing the North…Canada. We felt kinda famous and got treated as such. Just a great looking foreign national team ready for a good time. We were the life of anywhere we went…a spotlight always shining on us – it was special! And we cleaned up in baseball too! This experience was extremely different compared to any of my other travels in a good way.
