Strathmore hosts ball tournament

Times Contributor  

 

The Strathmore Boston Pizza Thunder will be hosting The Western Canadian Boys/Girls U16 Championship from August 9-12. The event is four days long and has free admission to the grounds for any child under the age of 18.

“[It was] Alberta’s turn to host the Bantam ‘A’ Western, so we put a bid in and were elected to host it,” said coach Lanky Johnson. 

With such a big event there is a lot to organize.

“Opening ceremonies, the closing, everything official. There might be a big banquet held. There’s all kinds of things going on,” said Johnson. 

Even with so much to do, this tournament is barely on the team’s radar right now as they are busy concentrating on the games they have yet to play. Recently returning from a tournament in Kalispell, Montana where they finished in fourth place, the team is now geared up to play again. This week is the Provincial tournament in Stoney Plain where the Thunder are up against seven teams from across Alberta. The games will be very competitive and these girls plan to bring their best. The Thunder begin day one facing off against Calgary and Lloydminster. This day will prove to be a challenge as the Lloydminster club is the overall provincial favourite this year and will probably play as the Alberta representative at Nationals in Ontario. However, the girls are up to the challenge. 

On Day 2, they’ll play Edmonton and Red Deer to complete the tournament. According to Johnson, the team is striving for a 3-1 record in round robin play. When it comes to the roster, the team is nursing a couple minor injuries, but hopes to be at full strength by Friday.

“This time of year after 40 plus games all teams face the injury bug as it is part of the game,” said Johnson. With provincials and the Western Championship ahead of them the girls will need to keep up their stamina. With the high skill level of the teams competing, playing at home may not be any advantage. 

“Girls at this age start getting looked at by college scouts … the teams that are coming are all very talented teams,” said Johnson. “[The other teams] will have just as many fans as we do. It’s a lot of people. It’ll bring in probably close to 500 people just for the event.”

Other teams in the area have also been battling it out in provincials. In Mite “A” the Strathmore All Stars won themselves a silver medal after a two-game playoff final against Red Deer. The team held the lead in game one until the fourth inning but could not hold it. In game two Red Deer got the lead and held on to defeat Strathmore and win the gold. 

The Squirt “B” Renegades were eliminated in provincials due to a slow start on opening day, dropping two games. The Renegades did, however, win the Calgary Minor Championship this season. 

The Bantam “C” Wildcats had two wins and two losses in their provincial finals in Leduc and were eliminated. This week they continue to play in the Calgary Minor Championship, needing only one more win against SBR to claim the gold. 

The Pee Wee “C” Heat will be in St. Paul for their provincials, after finishing in third place in the Calgary Minor Playoffs.