3 minute read
Remember your love for baseball!
Watch a game – or The Sandlot – to remember your love for baseball
BY PIETA WOOLLEY
How to get locals excited about baseball again?
Two long-time players and coaches – newly at the helm of the Powell River Minor Baseball Association (PRMBA) – have two ideas they’re casting out into the community this spring.
Brenden Frehlich is the new president. Andrew Messner is newly vice-president. Both are long-time enthusiasts for the sport – as players, coaches and now recruiters.
First, on March 23, the PRMBA is inviting the community to see The Sandlot at The Patricia Theatre (see sidebar). It’s free for registered players, and just $5 for everyone else. You can sign up to play while you’re there.
THE SANDLOT SCREENING
When: March 23 at 1:30 pm
What: To promote Minor Baseball registration, the PRMBA is sponsoring this screening of the family baseball classic film The Sandlot
Where: The Patricia. Registered players are free. Everyone else is $5. You can sign up at the theatre to play ball.
Brenden is a superfan of The Sandlot. “As a kid, I loved the movie,” he said.
“My kids love it. We’ve watched it 1,000 times. I believe it will get kids who are already in baseball pumped for the season. And kids who didn’t consider playing – maybe it’ll make them think, ‘Hey, I should play.’”
Second, Brenden and Andrew are hoping folks just come out to watch a game. Or, the whole season.
They recommend DA Evans Park, where the U13 team plays.
“That’s where they start playing real baseball, it has a real Little League feel to it,” said Andrew. “The park is so pretty and comfortable. It’s like a little postcard. A little gem. But you’ll see some good competitive baseball at Larry Gouthro, too. Catch play Mondays to Thursdays starting at 6 pm most days at both fields.”
The game itself is perennial, but behind the scenes, this has been an important year for revitalization. The board has seven new members, replacing some members who have been there for decades – long after their own kids stopped playing, including Danielle Quinney and Christa Petri. Brenden says he is extremely grateful to this group of volunteers, who kept the sport going when no one else stepped up.
When you love the game like Brenden and Andrew do, stepping up comes naturally.
Brenden, who works for the City’s parks department, grew up in Smithers, a town with a similar-sized population and number of kids from t-ball to U15.
“I loved it,” he recalls. “I still remember we had a little travel team. It was a blast. We really bonded together and I was sad when it ended. I played from Grade 2 til I was 16.”
His best year was with U13 – the same age as his own son, who plays ball and pitches like he did.
Andrew, who works for the City’s roads department, grew up in St. Adolph, Manitoba – and his father brought him along to watch his very competitive men’s slo-pitch team. He started with t-ball, but was playing hardball by 12. When his family moved to Port Coquitlam, he started playing very competitive hardball there.
“I have awesome memories,” said Andrew. “I played catcher and short stop. Mostly short stop. Now, I’ve never stopped – I’ve played my whole life: mixed slo-pitch and coaching.
“Now my focus, certainly, is on my kids, who are 11 and 8. They are starting to really get into baseball.”
|| pieta@prliving.ca
