You won’t find many infield shifts or designed hit-and-run plays at the mosquito level of minor baseball, and that’s the way the coaches of the Gander AA Pilots want it.
During a practice last week, coach Todd Baldwin paced around the field in Gander instructing his shortstop to cover second base when the ball is hit to the right side of the field, and telling his second baseman to cover the bag when the ball is hit to the left. Besides that, the coaches emphasized the importance of backing each other up.
All coaches at the mosquito level focus on the fundamentals, and there’s no looking past that important aspect, according to coach Greg Edwards.
“Our goals are to teach the youth the fundamentals of baseball, and to incorporate fair play and fun into that as well,” he said.
Fun and enjoyment was definitely a big part of the practice last week. The youth were diving around for fly balls, laughed as they tried to turn double plays, and battled each other during a pop-up drill.
Although it’s all in good fun, the coaching is paying off for the Pilots. The young squad played a series of exhibition games against Grand Falls-Windsor on the July 24 weekend, where half of the team enjoyed their first taste of action beyond the fields in Gander.
“Went to Grand Falls-Windsor to play three games, and they finished with two ties and a loss,” said Edwards. “For a lot of those kids it was their first experience playing an organized game outside the Gander area. It was a good experience for a lot of them. They were satisfied with their results, and the coaches were as well.”
Of the 12 players on the team, roughly half are rookies to the mosquito division. Edwards said those players are adapting nicely to their new division, especially considering they have to make one huge adjustment.
“Almost half of the youth on this team just came up from the rookie division, so they have no experience at mosquito. The biggest adjustment for those youth is having another youth pitch to them,” he said. “For the first couple of years they were in baseball, they had an adult throw the ball to them. Now they have to adjust to a real game where another youth is pitching to them, and that’s going to be the biggest adjustment for these youth.”
“Most of these kids never played in a provincial setting before, so we want to make sure there’s no pressure on them to win.” - Greg Edwards
Those rookies have already faced pitchers their own age in Grand Falls-Windsor, and will return to that town for the Aquafina Mosquito AA Provincial Baseball Championships from Aug. 13-15.
Though the tournament is much bigger than the exhibition games the squad played in, the goal remains the same.
“We just want them to build experience. Most of these kids never played in a provincial setting before, so we want to make sure there’s no pressure on them to win,” said Edwards. “We just want them to go out there and play hard, have fun, and do what they’ve been taught.”
Edwards, who has a son in the mosquito and rookie division, said all of the practice is paying off for the Pilots. He said the boys are doing a good job with their infield defence, and because they have an interest in baseball, they’re easy to teach.
“Are you kidding? This is the best,” he said, when asked if he enjoys watching the kids develop. “Coming out here and watching your kids, and your kids’ friends playing is a real treat. It’s a joy for all of us, for sure.
“Their fielding is strong, we have several good hitters, and their interest level is really high. The collection of youth that we have on this mosquito team have a keen interest in playing the sport of baseball, so they’re eager to play, and eager to learn, which makes it a lot easier to teach them. They’re good listeners.”
info@ganderbeacon.ca
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