oung ballplayers will have a chance to spring into baseball in the dead of winter this weekend.
The Okotoks Minor Baseball Association (OMBA) is hosting its third annual open house at Duvernay Fieldhouse at Seaman Stadium on March 1.
The budding Jose Bautistas and R.A. Dickeys will receive instructions from players they may have seen in Dawgs uniforms at Seaman Stadium in the past, including former pitchers of the year Jeff Duda and Desmond Sullivan and last season’s MVP Austin Voros.
“It’s an open house for parents to bring the kids down and play catch with some of the Junior Academy Dawgs and some of our coaches,” said Dawgs coach A.J. Fystro. “We’re trying to get the kids exposed to baseball and help boost the numbers for Okotoks Minor Baseball Association.”
Lesley Dyck, OMBA administrative assistant, said the association will have representatives at the open house for parents to ask questions about the upcoming season.
The open house also dovetails into the association’s winter camps and evaluations, where the Dawgs provide a helping hand.
Fystro said he is looking forward to helping the association and the community which he and his family now call home.
“We help with all of their (OMBA) camps and evaluations,” Fystro said. “We offer them a reduced rate for the fieldhouse and our coaches are donating their time.”
The open house on March 1 will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. for players from five to nine years old. For players over the age of 10, the open house runs from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Registration for Okotoks Minor Baseball Association continues, however, the deadline for guaranteed placement is Feb. 28. To register go to www.okotoksminorball.com
Blue Jays
flyin’ in
Registration has begun for the Blue Jays Honda Super Camp on July 31 to Aug. 2 at Seaman Stadium.
The camp will allow young ballplayers to receive coaching from members of the Toronto Blue Jays organization as well as players who once played at Exhibition Stadium or the Rogers Centre.
Those former Blue Jays who have confirmed to attend the Okotoks camp include Jesse Barfield, an outfielder with the 1985 Jays; Duane Ward of the World champion Jays of 1992 and 1993 and Cecil Fielder, who played four years in Toronto and won the World Series with the Yankees in 1996.
To register go to toronto.bluejays.mlb.com and click on “baseball academy” at the top of the page.
