WSBC Men’s Softball World Championships 2017 – Whitehorse, Canada
Bernie Simai is our Sports Physiotherapy Title Holder at The Joint Physio
Bernie Simai has just returned with a silver medal from Whitehorse, Canada, following a heroic campaign that ended with conceding a heart-breaking grand slam home run in the penultimate inning of the Gold medal match. Arch rivals New Zealand won a historic 7th World Championship to become the country’s most successful national sporting side (yes, more so than the 3-time World Champion All Blacks).
The first stop was a training camp in Amish country just outside Toronto, where Bernie faced a hectic schedule trying to treat 17 players (many of whom carried injuries to the trip) as well as the coaches. His treatment was scheduled between intense training sessions, practice matches and meals and he also led all warm-ups, cool-downs and pool recovery sessions. This meant Bernie was often up and treating the guys from 5am right through to midnight depending on the day’s schedule – so anyone who accuses Bernie of taking a holiday can think again!
A successful training camp had the Aussie Steelers 5th seeded for the Championships and they flew over to Whitehorse in Yukon, Canada near the Alaskan border. With Summer temperatures fluctuating wildly and 18 hours of daylight each day, it was a tough acclimatising period.
After dropping tough pool games against the USA, Canada and Venezuela, Bernie worked his magic to have every player available for the knock-out stage of the tournament. As the tournament progressed the list actually became fitter and healthier and this led to stunning victories over the USA, Argentina and reigning World Champs Canada to set up a shot at gold against the Kiwis. After leading all night, it unfortunately wasn’t to be, but the Steelers should be mighty proud of their efforts and are already preparing to go one better next time.
