Fall ball moves ahead

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

After three triumphant weeks, the Strathmore Reds fall ball bantam team has made tremendous strides in development over the campaign, which has not gone unnoticed by the team’s coaching staff.
“I like to see the kids improving every single day,” said Chin. “They come out, this a good group of kids, they like to work hard at practice and it’s been showing in the games and in their results. From the teams we’re playing in Calgary, it seems to me anyway, that we’re pretty much a step ahead of them in terms of baseball sense in general and knowing situations. They’re really knowing how to compete at that level, especially the kids moving up into bantam the next year.”
The players had to get accustomed to the practices being more developmental sessions compared to just doing preparations for that weekend’s game during the summer, while positions became more flexible as kids tried them all.
“It’s good exposure for the kids all around,” said Chin. “It’s less competitive in the sense that practices are more based on development and structured skill wise instead of geared towards strategy. It’s good for them, a lot more individual work and they can work on themselves as ball players, and it shows when they come work in practice, they meld there as a team.”
Chin added that the competition has improved from years prior, and thinks this year has been a great test for the kids.
“The competition is a little bit better for the kids,” said Chin. “But that being said, it’s been better for their improvement as well, playing against the older kids because there are some kids in the league that are 16-years-old … they’re competing (against).”
The kids do take certain strategies into the games to keep themselves sharp on the field and it has been noticeable through their play and attitude on the field.
“We’ve been talking a lot about just approaching the game of baseball from a mental aspect and really not letting their body language and negative attitude affect their play,” said Chin. “I’ve seen improvements every single week and seems like they’re doing a conservative effort to do that.”
Nathan Bogstie thinks fall ball has helped him as a player allowing him to play more baseball, and said it’s a reprieve compared to the busy summer season.
“It’s not as intense and it’s a good experience,” he said.