Best of the West: Reflecting on the U13 Kamloops Tournament

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Reflecting on the U13 Kamloops Tournament

District 1 and District 4, in an effort to enhance its programming, entered a Southern Alberta Little League Select U13 team in the recent Kamloops "Best of the West" tournament.  The squad played very well and won the silver medal.  The team included players from Brooks, Hays, Medicine Hat, Redcliff, Claresholm, and Lethbridge.  Many observers remarked on how well the players came together, and what  great teammates they were to each other.  Special thanks to the stewardship of coaches Nathan Stark, Trevor Bishop, and Matt Baldock.  As well, a number of parents stepped up and supported the team in various roles. Certainly it was an effort that all of the Southern Alberta baseball community can be proud of!

- Dale Tilleman, President of Norcrest Little League District 1

 

Thoughts From The Field

The Kamloops tournament was an awesome experience and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. It’s not easy to put a team together like this in such short notice. Especially when the kids are all being pulled from different areas of Southern Alberta. Every kid comes from a different background and while some kids are lucky to play on the same team together, some don’t have that luxury. There is also a little bit of a rivalry being from different cities. Despite all of that, the kids were able to put their differences aside and come together as a team. The camaraderie amongst the team was completely different from when we first started, to when we ended raising a championship banner. 

I think a huge factor in our success was how well we came together as a team. A quick tournament like this, it can be difficult for kids to open up and get comfortable with everyone. That was not a problem for our team. Like I said before, the kids were able to put their differences and egos aside, and really come together. Winning will do that. Towards the end, you would’ve thought we’d been playing together all year with how well gelled together we were as a group. The better a team can come together, the more success they will have, and that was evident with this team. 

I am also extremely proud of how hard everyone worked. We had to put the kids in many different situations, some that they probably weren’t comfortable with, but they never complained, and they just put their heads down and they went to work. That makes it easier for me as a coach because now there is a sense of trust between me and the players, to where I am now able to put them in any kind of position, and I know that they will succeed. These kids were awesome. All super coachable, hard working, funny, gamers that love the game of baseball. It was a thrill to be able to coach them. 

Overall, I think the Kamloops tournament was a huge success and hopefully we can do something like this again down the road. 

 - Nathan Stark, Coach