Edenvale hosts annual Pat McKinon Junior Baseball Tournament
The Giant Imps and Northern Stars faced off in a friendly baseball tournament at the Edenvale Baseball Club to prepare for the junior season.
Young baseball players brought action and camaraderie to the Pat McKinon Tournament at the Edenvale Baseball Club.
The tournament took place on September 27 and 28, with The NEWS attending on the second day.
The scorer, Suzanne Fernandes, explained that the tournament takes place annually, with teams from across the East Rand competing.
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“Currently, we have the Giant Imps U12s, playing against Northern Stars, who are a combined team. This is a friendly tournament to start off the junior season, which begins on October 4.”
One of the Stars’ coaches, Bevan Strydom, said these games are played by clubs from around Gauteng.
“We have children who come from any school or any group to play at the club every Sunday. We have games starting next week with the league, where the players then come and learn how to play the game. They play matches against other clubs to improve their skills.”
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He added that the tournament starting next week is more of a warm-up.
Strydom observed that the game was going well, with the children learning a lot, and the coaches were identifying areas where their players needed development.
The coach said, “The children are having fun, and we, as coaches, are having fun instructing them on what to do.
“The games are going exactly how we expected, and players are performing well.”
Strydom said they started the tournament with U8s, but any children from the age of six can play baseball.
Participants in the tournament are playing in U8, U10, U12, U15, and U19 teams.
Imps coach Aidan Richter said they train every Tuesday and Friday from 17:00 to 18:30.
