Immediately following their provincial championship tournament in Maple Ridge (Aug. 10 to 13), seven of Gibsons finest midget AA all-star baseball players ventured into the hot Okanagan sun for more baseball.Their objective: to take part in a high level, fast-paced prospects camp designed to allow 16 to 18-year-olds to showcase their talents to top level coaches and scouts from Canada and the U.S. On top of the list of coaches was Marty Lehn, Team Canada coach and a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers. In addition, there were coaches from all corners of the U.S.There were players from across the province, Wash-ington state, Cali-fornia and England."Our Gibsons boys, seven out of 41 players at the camp, represented the largest percentage from any club," said Gibsons coach Brian Scarr. "The fact that Gibsons, a relatively small community, sent the largest percentage of all players to the camp says a lot about the Gibsons baseball community and support given over the years."The Gibsons players included Derek Duncan, Jordan Liden, Wesley Liden, James Pomfret, Mitchell Rainer, Timothy Scarr and Adam Windsor.The participants were put into four equitable teams that trained together throughout the week and competed in a series of games, which determined a champion at the end of the camp."Through the week each player made their indelible print in the minds of the scouts at the camp as some serious impressions were made," added Scarr. "Each player worked hard and earned his own accolades."Mitchell, currently playing with the North Shore Twins of the Premier League, demonstrated his incredible in-fielding skills and batting prowess and was awarded the coveted superstar award.James earned the Johnny Bench Award as the top catcher of the entire camp. Wesley and Derek impressed the scouts with their exceptional pitching abilities, frustrating many batters.And the Gibsons bats had some serious clout too.Long balls came from Jordan, who smacked a long shot to propel his team to victory in the preliminary round. In the final tournament, in dramatic fashion, Timothy, with bases loaded, hammered a grand slam. Immediately following this, Adam came to bat and stroked a solo shot to lead their team to a 9-0 victory. To add to the successes of Gibsons participants, Mitch, Wesley and Jordan were on the team that won it all over the course of the week."The scouts were now talking about the boys from Gibsons. What's in the water? Is it the salt air? Is it the food served at Molly's Reach?" recalled Scarr. "The coaches all noted that the boys have some very special qualities that will help them in any of their future endeavours, sports-related and otherwise. The local boys possess a high degree of desire and ability that could lead any one of them to opportunities at the college level. "Above all of this, the staff commented on all of the boys' incredible sportsmanship and overall human qualities. In a nutshell, this is one top quality set of athletes. Parents, grandparents and community members -you can feel proud of our boys."
