On June 21, Coast baseball fans will have a chance to learn from a legend.
Retired Major League pitcher and World Series champ Ryan Dempster will be holding a clinic for Sunshine Coast Baseball Association members 10 years and older.
Dempster, who was born and raised in Gibsons, was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame May 31. Over the span of his career he played for the Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He finished his Major League career by winning the 2013 World Series championship with Boston.
He will be on the Coast for the annual Dempster Family Foundation Golf Tournament on June 23, and suggested to Jim Pringle, Sunshine Coast Baseball Association president, that he could run the clinic the Thursday before the tournament – a first for the association.
“It’s an opportunity for these kids to get some coaching from a World Series Champion. It’s an awesome opportunity,” Pringle said. He expects more than 40 members to attend the two-hour clinic, which will be held at Ryan Dempster Field in Gibsons starting at 4:30 p.m.
The clinic comes on the heels of the association’s final tournament, to be held June 17. Members will learn pitching fundamentals from Dempster, and other coaches will be on site to teach all aspects of the sport. The public is invited to watch.
“I sent out the notice initially and responses and registration from the association members have been coming in fast,” Pringle said. “He really gives a great message about do it because you love it and dreams do come true sometimes, and he’s living proof.”
Members can register for the clinic on the Sunshine Coast Baseball Association website, sunshinecoastbaseballassociation.com
