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Rafaële Le Roux arrived at Lewiston High School as an exchange student for the 2022-23 school year, wanting to experience as much of what the United States had to offer as possible.

That included playing a sport than isn’t common in her home country of France. She decided to try softball.

“I wanted to meet new people, socialize and get out of my comfort zone because I didn’t know anyone on the team,” Le Roux said in an email to the Sun Journal. “I also really wanted to live my exchange year the way I imagined it, and for me, trying a new sport that (wasn’t) very popular back in France was a big part of that.”

Her one season with the Blue Devils made such an impression that she joined a softball team when she returned to France.

Since Le Roux played two years ago, the Blue Devils have had two more exchange students join the team, Ana Calvacante of Brazil in 2024 and Laura Romero of Spain this season.

“I think there’s been, like the past, well, now three years, there’s always been (exchange) students (on) the softball team, and also, people telling me that I have to do softball because it’s really fun,” Romero said. “So I was like, I might try it as well and see how it goes, and depending on that, I’ll choose if I do it or not. I really had a good time in the tryout. So I just decided to stay, but I think it’s mostly because it’s really fun.”

Romero has had a lot to learn this spring, but she’s received a lot of help.

“It was hard. I had no clue how to hold the bat,” said Romero, who is on the Lewiston JV team. “I had no clue how I was supposed to catch the ball. But it was easier, I guess, because of people trying to teach me over and over again. And we practice every day. So that was also really helpful. But it was super hard. I had no clue what to do, and for my first two weeks, I couldn’t barely hit the ball.”

Le Roux said the coaching staff was willing to work with her to develop her skills, and made sure she felt welcomed and was involved with the team.

“For me, that season was one of the best experiences of my year abroad. I met an amazing team who were super kind, funny and friendly,” Le Roux said. “They always helped each other. The coaches, (varsity) coach Ryan (Cormier) and (junior varsity coach) Jeff (Nadeau), were honestly the best coaches I’ve ever had in any sport. They really take care of the team and make sure everyone feels like they belong and everyone has a place, and even if you’re not the best, you’ll still play. They really help you improve without ever judging you.”

Nadeau said he has enjoyed teaching the game to the three exchange students.

“It’s fun. It can be a little challenging because there are a lot of aspects to the game of softball,” Nadeau said. “It’s just not throwing and hitting. There’s a lot of knowledge about coverages and where to be in position, different rules to base running.”

Lewiston junior Ava Marquis was Le Roux’s teammate on the junior varsity team in 2023. She said it was cool to see Le Roux develop her skills so quickly.

“So it started out a little rough, but she really did pick it up fast,” Marquis said. “And our whole team was super supportive of her. Which, I think, really helped. We all picked her up and gave her tips as she went. We saw a lot of progress throughout the season. Her first hit (and) her first catch of the game. It was pretty fun having somebody on the team that’s never played before.”

Klara Cloutier, another junior this season, played with Calvacante on the junior varsity team in 2024 and said Calvacante wanted to be on the field as much as possible.

“She was always so happy to be here,” Cloutier said. “When practice got canceled, she was always more annoyed than everyone else. She genuinely loved the sport.”

Nadeau is impressed with how much they picked up in a short amount of time.

“Last year, Ana ended up getting the coach’s award from myself just for where she started to where she ended in the growth and the improvement that she made was just absolutely outstanding,” Nadeau said. “The same thing with Raf in the first year. It’s just amazing to see how much they grew.”

The first two exchange students have since returned to their homes, but have brought the game with them.

“The two exchange students that we’ve had already, Raf and Ana, have sent messages back that they now play in either a men’s league or are helping kids in their area on how to play softball.”

Le Roux has even introduced her family to the sport.

“Raf, when she got back, she shared a video with the team on Facebook of her playing softball with her siblings back in France,” Cloutier said.

Cormier said it’s fun for the Lewiston coaches and players to be part of spreading the game to faraway countries.

“Having these players come in from different countries learning a sport that is popular in the United States and going back is great to see,” Cormier said.