Two products of the Gibsons Minor Ball Association (GMBA) are following in the footsteps of Gibsons Ryan Dempster.
Adam Pattison, a right-handed pitcher, and catcher Dave Moran are suiting up this year with the North Shore Twins senior baseball team.
The Twins, a member of the B.C. Premier Baseball League, can proudly claim to helping Dempster, now a starter with the Chicago Cubs.
Dave is in his first season with the Twins while Adam is beginning what he hopes to be his first full season with the senior team.
Adam played one year with the junior Twins. Last year, his first year with the senior team was cut short due to injuries.Both players just returned from Coco, Florida, where the Twins took part in a week-long spring training camp with other teams from across the U.S.
The Twins compiled a record of 5-0-1 in Florida and have an exhibition record of 8-3-1.
"Florida was a good chance for us to come together as a team," said Adam. "Last year we had a real tough year. We never gelled as a team and I think that's why we struggled. It was a lot of work, but we had a lot of fun."
Adam pitched in an intersquad game and also pitched a few innings of relief during the games in Florida.
Dave caught in three of the six games and felt he put in a good performance.
"I did well in the field, but my bat suffered," Dave admitted."
The Twins have just started their regular season. They split a pair against Nanaimo and last weekend picked up a pair of forfeited wins over Kelowna to sit at 3-1.
"The competition is great and the coaching is phenomenal," added Adam. "It's a big commitment though. It's like six days a week of either travelling to practice or travelling to games."
But it's that type of sacrifice and commitment that is expected when you want to play on a team like the Twins.
"We want to be competitive and compete for the playoffs every year," said Twins head coach John Haar. "We struggled over the past couple of years with a rebuilding program. Our young players now have the experience and we've very optimistic that we can make the playoffs, but I think we need to look higher than that. We've got the capability to contend with the top teams. We have the players to do that. Now it's up to us as coaches to make sure we prepare the players to live up to all our expectations."
Haar said it can be a tough grind playing in premier baseball.
"The trip to Florida gave us a chance to get in a lot of baseball and spend time together as a team," he said. "It's tough when you have kids coming from all over the place, like it is for Dave and Adam. Players arrive at different times for practice and it can be tough adjusting to the schedules when you're used to playing only 25 or 30 games a year. It's a big commitment, but I think the Florida trip helped with that."
Haar said he has high hopes for both Dave and Adam. "Adam is a pitcher in our minds, although he has shown signs of being an every day player," Haar said. "He's starting to swing the bat better, which is good to see. So far in his relief appearances he's pitched very effectively. His off-speed stuff has been very good. I know he's itching to start, but the season is young. He'll have opportunities."
"As for Dave, he's a young catcher, but we really like him. When you go from minor baseball to premier baseball, it's a huge step. But Dave has handled it well and we're really happy with his progression. He's our catcher of the future. He has a good attitude and work ethic to the game and I see him as a very promising young catcher."
ClinicMarty Lehn, coach of the Canadian Olympic baseball team, is once again running the annual baseball camp in Gibsons.
The camp is intended to help tadpole, mosquito and peewee players begin the season with excellent training for the upcoming season. More than 100 players attended last year and organizers expect a strong turn out again this year. Lehn is bringing three or four assistant coaches, and the older players from within Gibsons baseball will assist.
Cost is $20 per day or $30 for both days.
The clinic takes place on Saturday and Sunday, April 23 to 24, at Brothers Park.
Registration takes place a half hour prior to the clinic. All players are asked to bring a water bottle, baseball glove and batting glove (if you have one) and should wear a protective cup, hat and baseball cleats.
Tadpole registration is 9 to 9:30 a.m. with the clinic from 9:30 to 11:30; mosquito registration is 11:30 to noon with the clinic from noon to 2 p.m. followed by peewee registration at 2 and their clinic from 2:30 to 5 p.m.
The clinic will occur rain or shine. If it rains heavily, organizers will use the Elphinstone Secondary School gym and batting cage.
Besides the two-day clinic, on Friday night Lehn is making two presentations in the Elphi gym that are open to all GMBA members, players and the general public. Admission is by donation.
From 6 to 7 p.m., Lehn will present hitting mechanics and breakdown followed by a Team Canada Olympic baseball experience from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
