Zarowny named to Team Canada

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Local baseball player Kaden Zarowny has been selected as one of the 15 players to represent the first-ever Alberta U15 based Team Canada that will be heading to Cuba to play on the Canada Cuba Goodwill tour in early April.
The catcher has been playing baseball for seven years and describes himself as a big hitting player that also likes to be assertive at protecting the plate.
It was at a Calgary Redbirds camp last November that Team Canada head coach Brent Cooper approached Zarowny’s parents, Rick and Rhonda, about the tour.
It was shortly after that Zarowny found out through his parents that he made the team because of his dedication to the game and his hard work ethic.
“I think we want to win, but it’s going to be fun too,” said Zarowny. “I think it will be pretty good baseball and everyone is going to be pretty good, bigger kids. There are lots of players in Major League Baseball that are Cuban. I think these kids are going to be really good.”
He is looking forward to meeting the tour ambassador and three-time World Series Champion Devon Whyte, who was a Toronto Blue Jay at one time.
He added that since the players are from all over Alberta, he will have to get to know the pitchers and build friendships with his teammates.
“I think I would go on a few more trips like this,” said the first-year bantam player.
Additionally, he mentioned that the humanitarian part of the trip will be of interest to him because the team will be delivering new and used baseball equipment to the kids at schools, where they would normally play in bare feet and scrounge up necessary equipment.
It will be Program Development Team Lead Dennis Woodworth’s third time taking Team Canada down to Cuba and he said the trip is not all about baseball, but also about life skills that they can take back into their every day lives.
He added that it’s really an eye opener as to how fortunate the players really are to have proper equipment, and how difficult it can be to live in a third world country.
“It’s really not built on an all-star team per se,” said Woodworth. “It’s more built on who you are as a person. Obviously you got to have some physical talent to play the game and things like that. But really what we’re looking for is good families and great kids that will represent our country in an international exchange program.
“It’s about giving to the game of baseball to a country that has great passion for the game, but very little in regards to equipment.”
Zarowny attracted Woodworth’s attention with his high level of sportsmanship.
If you’d like to donate equipment for the trip you can drop it off at the Hope Covenant Church office with Zarowny’s name on it.