Tom Copeland takes over the reins as head coach of the Southeast Legacy Twins midget AAA baseball team this season.
Over the weekend, tryouts for the team were held in Regina at the Field House for six hours, and the were able to put the players through their paces, said Copeland, who coached the Royals last year in an assisting position. This year the Royals became the Twins.
The league also had a change of name from Prairie Major Baseball to the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League, the only midget AAA league in the province.
From 24 players to pick from, the team was narrowed down to 16 positions. Copeland said they are later than most teams getting together, as many teams were selected from fall camps, but even though the season that opens on May 1 is creeping up on them, they are in good shape, as long as the weather co-operates.
"We were out looking at the field (Monday)," he said. "We're trying to pump water off it and try and get going the best we can."
For the time being they are set to meet in the leisure centre, which has some facilities like a drop-down cage.
"It's coming together pretty quickly. We've got a lot of games before our tournament in Moose Jaw, and we'll just work our way to that."
That tournament is the May long weekend.
Of the 16 players, 10 were born in 1995, or are players who are only eligible this year to play midget. The rest will be from 1993, but the entire pitching staff will be made up of the young 16-year-olds.
"We just need to teach these kids the game. They are going to split time with themselves. Our older players will definitely lead the way. Our older players are going to get some more time."
There will be plenty of time for the team to come together and adjust to competition, as Copeland noted the regular season games won't mean a lot. He called the season an exhibition schedule this year and then playoffs, but said that will change next year.
"Really at the end of the day, it's all about provincials," he said. "Win or lose, you just have to continue to develop the kids. As long as you're developing the kids all the way along it doesn't really matter. Our younger kids will be on strict pitch counts. Wins and losses won't be at the front of our mind."
Copeland said it's great to win, but he wants to develop the players and get them into routines. The pitching has already been scheduled for the first eight games.
"We've got them scheduled right out so we know exactly how many games those guys are playing and when the guys are playing."
He wants to make sure their rest is all scheduled properly.
"That's tough to do in midget baseball, but with these kids getting them on a routine and a schedule is absolutely key. The more they can learn to do that the better."
The six older players are all returning from last year's team but for the younger ones, a big part of their development is learning the game.
"There are just a lot of little things about baseball, and there's a lot of little things about baseball they need to learn. We'll just progress through the season."
Copeland is still detailing the team's road map for the season, along with all the milestones they hope to reach in their development at different points throughout the season.
Until the season starts, he said they are trying to get together as much as possible, but added that they can only do so much indoors.
"Once we can get on the diamond, we'll probably I suspect, try to get out there every day and try to get arms loose. I worry about arms more than anything. The hitting and everything else we can work on."
Protecting and building arms over the next few weeks is his biggest concern now.
