Hey, I'm new to this site, and am just wondering were you Canadian boys are playing, ie level,leagues, or what try outs you've been to and how you've faired at them. I'm near London Ontario, so I've had try-outs for the London Werewolves (Frontier League) and the London Monarchs (Canadian Baseball League) as well I've went Stateside to try and crack the Kalamazoo Kings roster (Frontier League) and I've also been apart of the Frontier League draft for the 2001 season, I've also tried out for the London Badgers an elite team in Ontario, currently I'm pitching for the Komoka Coyotes Junior team and have been asked to play Senior ball for Forest, Any response would be great thanks

Hi Doc,If you don't mind how old are you, I am thinking around 19 or 20. My son is only 14 in grade 9. He has just made Team Ontario 16 and under Elite Team, Cameron is a pitcher, outfielder, Team Ontario clocked him this past fall at 85mph, he also has good movement on his fastball and a couple of good off speed pitches. This past summer he won the Canadian Bantam Championships in Windsor, They had played New Brunswick for the Championship and won 1-0, very exciting game. He was playing with his North York Team.He pitched against the London Badgers Bantam team this last summer in the Burlington Tournament in the championship game. North York won that Tournament.Are you finished high school now. Cameron is looking forward to travelling with Team Ontario this coming summer and playing High School Baseball. You said you have been asked to play senior with Forest, what is Forest and do you like playing up. Cameron has been playing up for the last few years and i was wondering the pros and cons of playing up vs. playing with your own age group. I am looking forward to here from you.

Hey pitchersmom, no i dont mind telling you my age, I'm only 17 turning 18 this Feb. I'm 6'1225lbs RHP I thorw constantly between 87-90 mph, I topped out at 92 this summer,That's great to hear that your son made the team, I completely forgot about that team until a few days ago. I've played against the Bantam Badgers this past season as well, they were in our division, I had tried out for the Major Midget Badgers but a couple problems came into factor for me not making the team, first off was the money factor, it costs quit a pretty penny to play for them and also they had me pitch on the coldest night, so my velocity wasn't there, so they weren't too pleased about my performance, never mind the fact I pitched 2inngs of no hit ball and struck out their top 3 hitters! Forest is a City in Ontario,their senior team has many former draft picks on it as well as many future up and comming draft prospects. Personaly I love playing up because it forces me to evalate my game to that level, so that I can be the best out there, the cons are depening on how many levels you jump, you're really young and you can have trouble handling the pressure of situations, and if you jump that level and arent successful it can really hurt your self estime as well as you can get tagged as a player who can't handle themselves against an older group. Like if you were a 15 year old trin to compete against 20+ yr olds the pressure is amazing (Trust me I've been there),and if you can't handle it it can hurt you in the long run, but if you can handle it and hold your own or do better than some players than its a real confidence booster jsut so long as you don't let it get to your head, thats the biggest thing for anyone, no matter how good you get never let it get to your head, or else you've already lost and you'll not go far, that's the best advice I can give anyone whose playing up a level. Now as for playing at your own level, it's hard for players who shuld be playing at a higher competitvnes because they can and usually do tend to develop really bad habits, or really slack off, and than once you're faced with that challenge of raising your game, players can't do it, I've seen one of the best catchers in this area get made a fool because he slacked off and couldn't raise his game when he needed it, if you want to know anything else about me, or my thoughts on anything feel free to email me at the_rocket16@hotmail.com or continue to post messages on this board, I gotta run I'll tty bye

I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain't never been seen by this generation

Doc_K_Kid, you are pretty young to be trying out for Independant League teams. I know the London area and there isnt one kid bringing that type of gas, Im surprised I havent heard of you? What team did you play with in the past summers? Having played up and in the London area do you know of Sean Grimes or Jamie Romak?

Canadiankid obviously you don't know the London area that well, Simon Liston, Mike Damchuck and Brock Kjeldgaard all throw 85-89 mph and their on the London Badgers to namea few guys in this area that are bringing that type of gas, yes I know of Sean Grimes and Jamie Romak, I pitched against Romak two Octobers ago. Last Summer I played for Komoka, the two summers before that I played for Delaware and the seasons before I played for Strathroy. I pitch on teams that are small population wise, and that's why you've probably never heard of me before. Yeah I know I'm young to be trying out for Independant Leagues, but not really, any one I've been to there's been a handful of guys ages 17-19, so not really.

I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain't never been seen by this generation

LOL Simon Liston throws 78-82MPH, Damchuk is in the 83-87MPH range and Brock is in and around the same. I know for a fact any pitcher the badgers had trying out who was near 85mph would make it because those are hard to come by. Please dont argue those gun readings with me I know them to be true.
What type of feedback do you get from these camps? and also who is your area MLB scout, because he will have definitly seen you if you throw that hard.

First off I'm not going to argue with those gun readings, I was talking to Brock in October and he told me what he threw, as for the other two guys I knew they were around that area, from waht I've heard and read about them. The feedback from the camps I've went to has been alright, All of them wanted to know more information about me and where I was/am playing. The CBL try-out pitching evaluator told me that I might be getting a call in July or August to pitch in the league. When I pitched in the try-out for the Badgers, one they never had a gun and two I wasn't throwing nearly as hard as I could of because of weather conditions and because I wasn't ready to pitch for that tryout I jsut figured I'd go and show up and see what happens. As far as area scouts I have no clue, the only scout that I know that has seen me pitch is Tom Burgess the of Seattle Mariners. But hey what do I know right, I'm only a kid who knows what he's seen on the gun and what evaluators have witten down for me velocity wise, they sure wouldn't lie to a kid and tell him he's throwing 87-90 when he's not. But enough about me let's a hear about you since you know so much about everything in this area, who are you?

I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain't never been seen by this generation

Me? Well I wont be throwing out my name but trust that I have been around baseball in Ontario for some time now. Ive played in the OBA forever, I have played in London and know of the players you mentioned. My future in the sport is bleek however I know my stuff, guess you could call me a student of the game. I know Burgess, and FYI Dan Mendham is your area MLB scout. If you can show that velocity this summer your a shoe in to be invited to an MLB camp or two. Dan is responsible for London and area so he gets to see everyone.

Hey Canadiankd, thanks alot for the FYI, and I'll be sure to show that velocity this year, Did we play against each other at some point in time over the seasons?

I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain't never been seen by this generation

Doubtful, I moved to the big city (Toronto) in my early teens but I follow baseball in Ontario really closely. I know London got swarmed by scouts last spring with Jamie Romak recieving the early round attention, same thing happened several years ago with Sean Grimes. The Badgers program is excellent and always benefits from the more scouts that come, playing against the Badgers should offer a chance for exposure despite this years team not offering any potential draft picks. If playing on the Badgers can work economically for your family I suggest being persistant, show what you can do even if you just offer to goto an indoor workout and throw a pen, never know who you may impress.

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At ten, our son is a lot younger than most here but, our experience may be relevant.

Last year, when he was nine, we travelled a long way (an hour each way) two days a week to train with an older Mosquito team for almost six months (one of those nights was with Don Martin's school down out of Woodstock). Although my son did not make the Minor Mosquito team he trained with, he started to work on Pitching in the Spring Months, which changed his direction - and he took lessons and blossomed as a Pitcher. Last summer, he played underage on a House League team that happened to have a great Pitching coach (older son on an Elite team). My son developed into a dominant Pitcher and Hitter.

This year, we are commuting again to a team that has outstanding coaching (folks at well-known training facilities have told me our coach is one of the baseball people in Canada). I am more than impressed - I would pay the same $60 an hour for these practises that I have at FR, BZ, DM and the rest.

Playing up has done a lot. He gets the most out of these practises because he can relate to the situations he has faced in the past. He can throw strikes at will and will have no fear at the plate. He is learning a new secondary position, which is good.

As good as it is now, we are still considering going back to House League with the same past coach. The reason being that the mound will be further and less pressure and $ for a year. Sometimes, living in a small backwater BB community can have significant advantages. You have to commit heavily to train but, you may have greater flexibility.

Already, we have had varying degrees of exposure to Elite teams (TeamO,Thunderbirds,OBJ,Terriers, etc.). I am not so sure that these are always the best routes to go to College on. If you are a good student, take a close look at the schools you may be going to. Your summers are taken up so, you cant make $, in fact it's costing significant $ to be on these teams and in the end where are the Harvards, Princeton's and Stanford's in their success stories? What % are Ohio States, Michigan States, Notre Dames, Cornell's? Can you carry the baseball load and do Engineering, Veterinary, Computer Science, etc.?

I know of a young guy (16-ish) that has been training to Pitch since he was 10 with the same well-qualified guy. He looks phenomenal. He has played elite although, he and his family dont seem to be too pressed to put a lot of pressure and time on it.

In any event, I would play up if there is a good developmental reason to do so... if there is good coaching... if I am not quite Rep level at the moment (play up in House)... My question here is "Does it make sense to move up to PeeWee at a lower pressure House League level to pitch at 50 feet?

D

So you were 13 when you tried out for the frontier league? And I know several scouts in the London are personally and there is only 3 guys throwing with the type of velo and I know all of their names. So I'd be curious to know who it was the had the gun on you and told you that you had that velo.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc_K_Kid:
Hey pitchersmom, no i dont mind telling you my age, I'm only 17 turning 18 this Feb. I'm 6'1225lbs RHP I thorw constantly between 87-90 mph, I topped out at 92 this summer,That's great to hear that your son made the team, I completely forgot about that team until a few days ago. I've played against the Bantam Badgers this past season as well, they were in our division, I had tried out for the Major Midget Badgers but a couple problems came into factor for me not making the team, first off was the money factor, it costs quit a pretty penny to play for them and also they had me pitch on the coldest night, so my velocity wasn't there, so they weren't too pleased about my performance, never mind the fact I pitched 2inngs of no hit ball and struck out their top 3 hitters! Forest is a City in Ontario,their senior team has many former draft picks on it as well as many future up and comming draft prospects. Personaly I love playing up because it forces me to evalate my game to that level, so that I can be the best out there, the cons are depening on how many levels you jump, you're really young and you can have trouble handling the pressure of situations, and if you jump that level and arent successful it can really hurt your self estime as well as you can get tagged as a player who can't handle themselves against an older group. Like if you were a 15 year old trin to compete against 20+ yr olds the pressure is amazing (Trust me I've been there),and if you can't handle it it can hurt you in the long run, but if you can handle it and hold your own or do better than some players than its a real confidence booster jsut so long as you don't let it get to your head, thats the biggest thing for anyone, no matter how good you get never let it get to your head, or else you've already lost and you'll not go far, that's the best advice I can give anyone whose playing up a level. Now as for playing at your own level, it's hard for players who shuld be playing at a higher competitvnes because they can and usually do tend to develop really bad habits, or really slack off, and than once you're faced with that challenge of raising your game, players can't do it, I've seen one of the best catchers in this area get made a fool because he slacked off and couldn't raise his game when he needed it, if you want to know anything else about me, or my thoughts on anything feel free to email me at the_rocket16@hotmail.com or continue to post messages on this board, I gotta run I'll tty bye

I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I toss one that ain't never been seen by this generation

Cdn Moose...

Why are you talking about some stuff 2 yrs old!
Don't you have any new post on the forum to start beyond speaking of nothing...

DocK isn't on the board for several months!
Keep the Cdn board active with new subject... not 2 yrs old ones!!

I wonder what happened to Doc ?

Well since there were new posts in this forum I looked at it and found the old posts and found them amusing. Sorry, I like to call it like I see it and call someones bluff.