Another great season

Times Reporter  

 

Strathmore Minor Baseball Association (SMBA) has had a successful year on the diamond. 

The association saw an increase in participation this season in the sport.

“This year we had about 350 local youth playing baseball and softball. On a per capita basis, Strathmore would have one of the highest participation rates in Alberta,” said Daren Kennett, president of Strathmore Minor Baseball Association.

With Strathmore having a high rate of players, Kennett provided an interesting stat about the difference between Strathmore and Calgary.

“There are roughly 10,000 kids in Strathmore and we have 350 kids that play ball. In Calgary there are about a million people so about a 100 times as big so per capita they should have 35,000 kids that play ball, they have about 3,500, “ said Kennett.

“So Strathmore has 10 times as many ball players as Calgary does (per capita).”

Kennett believes Strathmore is a good baseball town that competes well on the provincial stage.

“Overall the baseball season went very well with a number of our teams competing for Provincial Championships,” said Kennett.

The season will be continued for many players from peewee, bantam,and midget as they will be playing in the fall ball program.

“The boys program starts on Sept. 2 at Kinsmen at 6 p.m. and that is open to peewee, bantam and midget players,” said Kennett. 

The girls fast pitch fall ball will start Sept. 1 and will run every Sunday until mid-October.

“It is all about player development. We play tournaments and we have two exceptional coaches lined up – Rylin Chin and Ryan Kennedy – who are going to coach the program, so we are going to practice Tuesdays and Thursdays and both teams will play a weekend schedule,” he said.

With the extended season, the players tend to improve their season.

“The kids that participate in fall ball, their skills blossom significantly, it’s huge,” said Kennett.

The midget team gets the fall league started on Sept. 7-8 in Vauxhall, Sept. 14-15 in Calgary, Sept, 21-22 in Medicine Hat, Sept 28-29 in Edmonton and Oct. 4-5 in Medicine Hat or Strathmore (the exact location is to be determined). 

The bantams will play in a Calgary league starting on Sept. 7-8 and go to mid- October.

If you are interested in playing fall ball you can contact Daren Kennett at 403-510- 6965.