It’s a familiar face making the decisions for the Yorkton Cardinals.
After two seasons with the Western Major Baseball League franchise as a catcher Kameron Mizzell has returned this season as head coach.
Hailing from Sylacauga, AL., Mizzell who played baseball with Talladega College in Alabama, said he has been involved in the sport for as long as he can remember.
When asked when he started playing he replied, “ever since I could walk. I was in Little League when I was about four.”
Mizzell said he recalled a summer he was told he could go camping, or play baseball. He eagerly chose baseball.
“It was the best decision I ever made,” he said, adding it helped him solidify a love for the game.
Of course in the southern U.S. a lot of youngsters are drawn to the diamond.
“It’s pretty big down there in the south,” he said, adding it’s bigger in Florida and Texas, but “Alabama is getting better.”
And of course so is Little League and its World Series.
“When I played the only thing we wanted to do was get to the Little League World Series,” said Mizzell.
In time the dream grew bigger.
Mizzell said when he was young he can remember telling his Dad, “I want to be in the Majors.”
While he is coaching this summer in Yorkton, Mizzell, 23, said playing in the Majors hasn’t been abandoned yet.
“I really haven’t given up on that dream yet … I’m still working out,” he said, adding after the summer in Yorkton he plans to look into what options there might be to sign on with a pro team, or maybe head to an independent team and work his way from there.
If the road as a player does not work out, Mizzell said he’ll look to stay in the game, and that could include coaching as he is with the Cardinals this summer.
Mizzell said his interest in a spot on the bench likely started with his father.
“I guess it started when Dad coached me,” he said, adding that included Little League Baseball, and helping coach high school sports too.
“He’d tell me stuff you had to look for as a coach … That intrigued me a little bit.”
Now with the Cardinals, Mizzell is getting some on-the-job training.
“I love helping kids craft their game,” he said.
It helps Mizzell is only a year removed from playing in the WMBL.
“It’s very easy to relate to them,” he said, adding he knows well what they are going through as college players hoping to improve their game through summer baseball.
Being a catcher helps the transition to coaching.
“Catching is a big part of the game,” he said, adding he sees the position as “Captain of the field,” because “they’re the only ones to see the whole field.
“That helps me.”
From the crouch behind the play Mizzell said he has learned how players at second, shortstop, centre field play their positions, and of course he handled the pitchers too.
“I pitched a little bit too, so I know the nature of pitching too,” he said.
So what is Mizzell’s philosophy as a coach?
The first thing he wants to see is players working hard, and that means shaking off a bad pitch, a fielding error, or a bad out, and bearing down the next time. He pointed to a situation in Moose Jaw where the Miller Express had men on second and third with no outs. He went to the mound with a simple message for his pitcher; “This is your game, show me you want it … You’ve got to look into their face and see what players have got, look into their eyes and see if they can get it done … You’ve kind of got to let players play and show confidence in them.”
In the simplest term Mizzell said it’s, “Just play the game. Play the game hard. Play at 110 miles an hour.”
That said, Mizzell said he doesn’t want aggressiveness to take over a player either.
“You want to let the game come to you,” he said.
As for coming to Yorkton, that was easy, said Mizzell.
“It’s a very good league,” he said, adding he enjoyed playing with the Cardinals and he is looking forward to helping take the team into the playoffs, and to a championship.
Mizzell said making the playoffs isn’t enough.
“We need to win it, to win the WMBL Championship,” he said.
2015 Home Game Schedule
• Friday, June 5, vs. Moose Jaw, 7:05 p.m.
• Sunday, June 7, vs. Weyburn, 2:05 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 9, vs. Okotoks, 7:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 10, vs. Okotoks, 7:05 p.m.
• Friday, June 12, vs Swift Current, 7:05 p.m.
• Saturday, June 13, vs. Regina, 7:05 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 16, vs. Lethbridge, 7:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 17, vs. Lethbridge, 7:05 p.m.
• Sunday, June 21, vs. Weyburn, 2:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 24, vs. Moose Jaw 7:05 p.m.
• Friday, June 26, vs. Swift Current, 7:05 p.m.
• Saturday, June 27, vs. Swift Current, 7:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 1, vs. Melville, 7:05 p.m.
• Saturday, July 4, vs. Melville, 7:05 p.m.
• Sunday, July 5, vs. Melville, 2:05 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 7, vs. Edmonton, 7:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 8, vs. Edmonton, 7:05 p.m.
• Saturday, July 11, vs. Weyburn, 7:05 p.m.
• Sunday, July 12, vs. Regina, 2:05 p.m.
• Thursday, July 23, vs. Medicine Hat, 7:05 p.m.
• Friday, July 24, vs. Medicine Hat, 7:05 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 29, vs. Moose Jaw, 7:05 p.m.
• Friday, July 31, vs. Regina, 7:05 p.m.
