Matt Edwards Memorial Scholarship

Matt Edwards Memorial Heart and Hustle Scholarship (Est. 2023)

About the Scholarship

To honour Matt Edwards’ contributions to Fastball St. Albert (FSA) as a dedicated coach, Board member and volunteer, FSA is offering a scholarship in his name as a legacy to FSA athletes in pursuit of a higher education who demonstrate heart and hustle on the field and in the dugout.

The Matt Edwards Memorial Heart and Hustle Scholarship is a $1000 scholarship awarded annually in June at the FSA Tournament or at the Angels Awards Night.  The inaugural award will be presented in 2023 by Matt’s daughter and Angel Alumni, Teslyn Edwards.

About Matt

Matt was a very impressive athlete; he earned awards, all-star recognitions and championships in baseball, volleyball, basketball, track and field and hockey. Matt loved to compete and he loved being with his team.

He may not have been the top player on each of his teams, but Matt was the captain of most of them because he made sure every single player felt valued on what Matt loved as much as anything in the world: the team.

This is also what Matt brought to coaching - he knew that athletes come back to play year after year because of the relationships and the laughs and the memories.

Matt’s definition of success in sports was: that an athlete loves playing enough that they want to continue playing that sport and bring that love to every team and teammate they will ever play with in the future.  That’s what Matt did and that’s what he hoped for all of FSA’s athletes.

Athlete Eligibility and Selection Criteria

For an athlete to be considered, an athlete must:

• be a current Angel in U17 or U19;
• have been an Angel for at least 2 years, cumulatively; 
• be accepted or enrolled at an accredited post secondary school or have plans to attend an accredited post secondary school; and
• demonstrate heart and hustle on the field and in the dugout. 

Athlete Recommendation 

Athletes at the A, B, and C level who meet the eligibility and selection criteria will be recommended to the FSA President/Committee by their head coach using the recommendation form.  Coaches may recommend more than one athlete.  The President will establish an Awards Committee comprised of three board members to review the recommendations and to select a recipient. 

Recommendations will be on the Coach Recommendation Form and must be submitted to the President and/or Committee by May 15 of each year.

Funding the Scholarship

FSA will graciously accept donations via cheque (mail to Fastball St. Albert, P.O. Box 86, St. Albert, AB, T8N 1N2) or EMT (accountspayable@fastballstalbert.ca .  No password required).  Tax receipts cannot be issued because FSA is a society and not a registered charity.  FSA will contribute $5 dollars from each athlete regular season registration on an ongoing basis towards to the designated account.   

Recipients

2023 - Isabella Pankiw