Baseball, March and Arizona 鈥� the three go together like hand, mitt and ball.
Every year, major league teams descend on the Arizona desert for spring training. Some aspiring major leaguers do too, and in March, a 麻豆社国产ball player got the chance to go to Phoenix to play in a national tournament for young players.
Coleman Kawaguchi, 10, was invited to play for a team taking part in the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) NIT Tournament.
The event took place from March 14 to 20 and attracted teams from around the U.S., ranging from the 10U tournament in which Kawaguchi played up to college-age players.
His team included a couple of players from Alberta and Prince George, and many came from North Vancouver. To make up for a couple of absences, they even added some players from Phoenix while in Arizona.聽
They spent the first four days working on baseball fundamentals before getting the chance to play games during the latter part of the week. The team ended up winning three and losing one, so Kawaguchi was happy with the results.
鈥淚t was good, it was fun,鈥� he said.
He travelled to Arizona with his family, and they even got to take in a Cactus League game between the L.A. Dodgers and Chicago White Sox while there.
While in Phoenix, Kawaguchi was able to work on skills such as the mechanics of throwing and base-stealing, as well as learn about off-field training, such as the importance of staying hydrated.
Previously, he had taken part in baseball camps organized with the Toronto Blue Jays, but his route to Arizona started last summer at the Big League Experience camp in the Okanagan organized by Canadian major league scout Marty Lehn.
鈥淚 went to a camp in Oliver and they invited me to play in Phoenix,鈥� he explained.
Lehn came to 麻豆社国产last year to hold a development camp for local baseball players, which is how Kawaguchi ended up going to Oliver. 鈥淐oleman was quite into it and wanted to go to the Okanagan camp,鈥� said his mom, Heather.
Lehn, who is based out of White Rock, has an eye for talent and spent many years as a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers before moving on to the Philadelphia Phillies organizations. He has also been a coach with Team Canada at various international events, including the 2004 Olympics.聽
He puts on the camp in Oliver along with former major league catcher Bob Didier, who played five years in the big leagues and has coached at both the minor and major league level.
Like many young players, Kawaguchi thinks big 鈥� as in big league 鈥� and started playing at age two, eventually joining organized ball with Howe Sound Minor Ball at age five. He plays middle infield, often shortstop, and considers New York Yankee legend Derek Jeter his role model.
鈥淭he Yankees are my team,鈥� he said.
Kawaguchi even was on hand in Yankee Stadium last season when the Yankees鈥� Alex Rodriguez got his 3,000th career hit in the majors.
Kawaguchi is aiming to head back to Oliver this summer to continue his development and hopes for a return trip to Phoenix next spring, as well as possibly a similar tournament in Las Vegas this fall. He takes part in summer and fall leagues in the Lower Mainland and also plays ice hockey during the winter.
In the meantime, he spent this weekend tuning up for games closer to home, as Howe Sound Minor Ball held its evaluation sessions at Brennan Park on the weekend.
