www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 5, 2008 - 33 OMBA preparing for upcoming baseball season GOLD FOR PEEWEE, BANTAM HORNETS SQUADS: A pair of Oakville Hornets house league teams won gold at the recent Flamefest girls' hockey tournament in Clarington. The peewee Blue Thunder (top) won all four of its games at the competition, while the bantam Cougars went 3-0-1 to earn gold of its own. Plans are already in full swing for the upcoming Oakville Minor Baseball Association (OMBA) season. This year, the OMBA will continue to offer a full baseball program for players between the ages of five and 23. The association is also introducing a Coach Pitch division, allowing players to learn the game in an instructional manner while still enjoying the opportunity to hit the ball and run the bases. The OMBA features both house league and rep systems. House league players can also try out for a select team from each division, a chance to play additional baseball on top of their house league schedules. The select teams are formed once the house league season has begun, in order to ensure all players have an opportunity to try out for the select team(s) in their age groups. "The objective is to provide a fun, safe environment for the kids to learen and develop their skills," OMBA president John Holloway said of the house league system. "Having said this, the ball is good quality and the kids have a great time competing against each other." Rep ball has teams from Rookie Ball (8-9 years old) to Junior (19-and-older). These teams compete throughout Ontario and quite often in the U.S. Rep players do not compete in the house league divisions. "This allows this group of highly-skilled and talented kids to focus on practicing and playing with only one group of teammates, which maximizes their opportunity to improve and be competitive against organizations that we compete against," said Holloway. Rep teams have been formed since November, and have been participating in indoor conditioning at Frozen Ropes in Oakville for the past two months. Three of the OMBA's rep teams (junior, minor peewee AAA and mosquito AAA) are defending provincial champions, while four others are coming off Central Ontario Baseball Association championship seasons. Blue Jays instructional clinic The OMBA will once again be partnering with the Toronto Blue Jays organization to host the OMBA's third annual Toronto Blue Jays Instructional Clinic. The clinic, to be held June 1, will feature two sessions and is for players between the ages of 7-15. Training staff from the Blue Jays will give handson instructional assistance in the areas of hitting, catching, fielding, running and throwing. Participants must be pre-registered to attend. For more information on the clinic, visit the OMBA's web site at www.oakvilleminorbaseball.com. OMBA pre-season player preparation clinics will begin April 19 at Frozen Ropes. Space is limited but free, and can be reserved by e-mailing the association at omba@oakvilleminorbaseball.com. Players must be registered with the OMBA in order to attend one of the free sessions. Hornets teams burn it up at Flamefest Two Oakville Hornets house league teams won championships at the recent Flamefest girls' hockey tournament in Clarington. The peewee Blue Thunder was victorious in all four of its games at the competition. After enduring a long drive down the 401 in a snowstorm, the Blue Thunder pounded Oshawa 61 in its opening game. Oakville then edged host Clarington 1-0 and doubled Norfolk 4-2 to reach the gold-medal game, where a late goal lifted the Blue Thunder to a 2-1 win over Oshawa. Emily Neil was selected as tournament MVP. Also contributing to the gold-medal win were Holly Miller, Lindsay Clarke, Leigh Ptashnik, Rachel Seccaspina, Rachel Rush, karina Larramee, Kendall Merritt, Celena Charron, Shannon McInerney, Amanda Vrbensky, Jaimie Rodriguez, Melissa Coulson, Emily McGrath and Alex MacGrandle. Rob Neil, Geoff Coulson and Mark Merritt coach the team, which is sponsored by Dr. Vrbensky Dentistry. Maureen Neil, Cindy Rush and Joy Coulson serve as trainers. The bantam Cougars, meanwhile, rallied from deficits in their first two games and carried that momentum to the championship. Oakville scored three goals in the final two minutes of its opening game against Aurora, salvaging a 3-3 tie, and again scored the final three goals of the game against Clarington for a 4-2 win. A 4-0 shutout of another Clarington squad earned Oakville a bye to the final, where Nicole Amaral's shorthanded goal in the final minute gave the Cougars a 1-0 triumph over Whitby. Other players on the team, sponsored by JCB Consulting, are Erica Jutras, Madison Merritt, Shoshana Adler, Amber Aquino, Rachel Berman, Kendra Bolton, Alex Keefe, Melanie Birtles, Olivia Andersen, Catherine Birtles, Laura Richardson, Jennifer Mason and Erin Belleghem. Mark Merritt, John Belleghem and Eric Birtles coach the team, and Tina Gaisin is the trainer. Burloak offers paddling for all ages, skill levels The Burloak Canoe Club will hold open houses and registration sessions for the upcoming season next month. Dates for the events are Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 20. Both events will take place at the Burloak Canoe Club clubhouse, located at 160 Water St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Membership is open to all, without restriction, and provides coaching, equipment, programs and facilities for canoeists and kayakers of all skill and fitness levels, from beginner to Olympic competitor, and all ages, from eight to 80. Programs are available for both inexperienced and experienced paddlers. Participants will learn to paddle both canoe and kayak in singles, doubles and fours, as well as war canoe. The season begins in May and runs through the end of September, weather permitting. One-week summer sessions for children are also available conjointly with Oakville Parks and Recreation. Atom (born in 1998-2000), peewee (1996-97) and bantam (1994-95) participants train in a group environment and have an opportunity to compete in their age classes at local regattas. Development and high-performance levels (1993-andprior) have more program-specific training. A Masters program is also offered for both experienced and inexperienced paddlers age 25 and older. Training is done in a group environment and there are opportunities to compete in age class local regattas. Those interested in dragonboat can take advantage of Burloak Dragonboat's program, with practice times available for booking by corporate and community crews who have committed to compete in dragonboat festivals and seek practice time. For more information, visit the Burloak Canoe Club to talk to its coaches, or log onto its web site at www.burloakcanoeclub.com. Oakville Minor Baseball Association 1236 Speers Road, Unit #4, Oakville, Ontario L6L 2X4 Providing Quality Baseball in Our Community for over 44 Years House League, Select and Rep Programs for all Boys & Girls Ages 5 to 23 From May to September 2008 Player Registration Saturday's March 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th from 10 AM to 1 PM At the OMBA Clubhouse 1236 Speers Road, Unit #4 OR Register online by visiting our website at Our Fees: T-Ball (Ages 5 & 6).........................$145 Coach Pitch (Age 7).........................$145 Rookie Ball to Junior (Ages 8 to 23).....$205 www.oakvilleminorbaseball.com With your registration we provide: · Player Development Clinics · Coaches taught by qualified instructors · Baseball Ontario Certified Umpires · Complete uniforms, Individual & Team Photos For further registration details and information visit our website at www.oakvilleminorbaseball.com email us at: omba@oakvilleminorbaseball.com or call us at 905-847-5545 The Oakville Minor Baseball Association is affiliated with