Baseball off to a good start in Wood Buffalo

It has been a whirlwind couple of days for the baseball boys. On day 1 they arrived to a fanfare of 200+ cheering athletes and volunteers, a DJ pumping out tunes and then whisked away to the athletes village. A quick orientation, a buffet meal and then given their own rooms to relax.

Day 2 started with breakfast and a bus trip to a pep rally where they were given a lesson on cheering and enthusiasm. Pumped up, the boys walked over to Shell place for a game against Manitoba. The team have their own dedicated change room in a brand new state of the art stadium. The boys took it all in stride and defeated Manitoba 6-2.

For players used to playing in baseball only tournaments  where you just come to the field and play, a multi-sport games is quite different. They are now part of a bigger team, TeamBC, enthusiastic crowds of people come to watch their games. There are fans cheering for them and crazed opposition trying to throw them off their games. They also get to interact with athletes from other sports as well as their opposition. Hopefully they will be able to get to other sports competitions and support their new TeamBC teammates and friends.

The facilities, food and fans are amazing. The atmosphere is something they may expect if they go onto play at college or drafted into the minor leagues of pro baseball. Experiences and lessons learned from these games will definitely help them in their very bright futures.