At least one team representing Barwick and Emo will play Little League in the region for the first time this season.
A Major ‘A’ team of 11- and 12-year-olds has been put together—and a junior team hopefully is on the way, said organizer Ken Wilson.
Players were drawn from Emo and Barwick for the Major ‘A’ team, which will begin play May 10 against Fort Frances and International Falls squads.
“I, personally, feel there’s a real need for young people to learn baseball,” said Wilson, who currently is working on the basics of throwing and catching with the players who have signed up for the team so far.
“They’re having a blast.”
The team is in the midst of finding a sponsor, but Wilson expected that to happen by the end of this week.
A lot of the players who’ve joined the team played slo-pitch at school, but never organized baseball.
“I expect they’re nervous, I’m nervous,” said Wilson. “I’ve heard the teams in the Falls are tough. We might have our work cut out for us.
“I expect the kids’ll have butterflies that first game.”
The hardest part about starting up the team was getting people to actually register for baseball since the kids are so used to just going out to the field when they wanted to play.
“It’s a very new experience for them, we’ve played quite a waiting game,” Wilson said. “Baseball is, obviously, the second sport in Canada. . . . Maybe even the third or fourth.”
Wilson hopes to get a junior team running within the next few weeks and, if things are successful this season and interest grows, to get all levels of baseball going.
Wilson dreams someday of having a Junior ‘A’ team of 18- to 21-year-olds representing the region—something he thinks Dave Sande, who organizes the Fort Frances Little League, also would love to see.
“There’s no way I want to tell these kids after 12 years old, ‘Okay, that’s it, it’s over,” Wilson said. “The kids will want to keep playing. To wind up with a full slate of teams should be attainable.
“Hopefully this is the start of something a lot better.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
