When the Moose Jaw All Stars played their first game of the Canadian Little League Regional championship back on Aug. 4, there were likely a few dozen fans from the Friendly City checking out the contest on CBC.ca, folks who were close to the players and coaches on the team and wanted to check things out.
By the time they played their last game, they’d captured the heart of the city, with thousands tuning into the broadcast, gathering to watch the game in local watering holes and cheering as hard as they could from afar.
And while the All Stars fell 9-4 to B.C. in the title game, there was no escaping the pride the community felt in their youngsters, who left for Calgary largely anonymous and will be returning as rock stars.
“I think they’re aware [of their fame] but I don’t think they know the whole big picture of it,” head coach Troy Turner said on Saturday afternoon, a day after the title game. “They felt like rock stars down there, but I don’t think they know the kind of support they had back home, other than the group of parents and friends that were there. But from social media, you could see there was quite the buzz.”
The overall support was there right from the get-go, of course. Moose Jaw is nothing if not incredibly generous when it comes to helping its young athletes compete at the highest levels, and this was no exception. Businesses and individuals stepped up to far exceed their fundraising goals, helping make the All Stars’ trip that much more memorable.
“It was incredible,” said Turner, who added that longtime Little League coach Tony Dreger played a large role in passing on advice when it came to preparation. “We set a fundraising goal and we easily exceeded that, then with all the support from everyone as it went along, just more and more and more texts and phone calls, it was absolutely huge and we never expected that kind of support.”
As for the competition itself, well, you can probably figure that one out yourself.
“It was an unbelievable experience, I’d say, right from the start to finish,” Turner said. “Obviously we would have liked to have a better outcome, but it was absolutely great for the kids, the coaching staff, the parents, everything.”
The final was a tough one for the local crew, as B.C. took advantage of every single miscue the All Stars had, but that was to be expected from a team of that calibre.
“They’re such a good team that you can’t let anything go by, you pretty much have to play a clean, clean game to have a chance,” Turner said. “We did give ourselves good chances, but then we shot ourselves in the foot a few times, which didn’t help. The kids are aware of that, and it’s not like it wasn’t for a lack of trying, we just couldn’t execute on a few things, which ended up costing us.”
The All Stars went 5-1 through the round robin and defeated Alberta 5-2 in their semifinal. Turner marveled at how the All Stars were able to elevate their game at the event, especially when it came to succeeding in tough situations.
“To be honest, after watching these kinds of games on TV and seeing the level of talent, I think we gelled and grouped perfectly in time for that tournament,” he said. “All the hard work that we did shined through and the kids stepped up and rose to the occasion. That’s why we had the success that we did… whether it was the bats or the pitching or on defence, there was always someone who stepped up. It was definitely both sides of the baseball that did it for us.”
You can relive all the big moments from the tournament on CBC.ca by clicking right here.
