Midget baseball is back in Yorkton after a two year hiatus in which Yorkton based midget baseball players had to either play in Melville or in the adult dominated SESBL (Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Senior Baseball League).
But thanks to RBI Baseball, a training academy based out of Regina, the midget aged players in Yorkton will be more than ready when they take to the field for regular season play for the first time in over two years at Jubilee Ball Park.
That's because RBI Baseball has been running a baseball camp each Sunday for the past three weeks and will continue doing so for the next seven at the Gloria Hayden Centre.
RBI Baseball instructor Chris Untereiner, a former NCAA Division I standout with the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds and former member of the WMBL's Regina Red Sox, says that RBI Baseball is looking forward to the challenge of helping build Yorkton's midget baseball program back up to where it should be. "One of the coaches for the midget AAA baseball team, Tony Black, approached us and he talked to Ben Fines who works at RBI saying he basically just wanted us to bring out a camp to get the boys out," said Untereiner before a training session on Sunday. "They've been practicing independently for the last two or three months but he wanted to bring something in officially and we jumped at the opportunity."
"We heard that Yorkton hadn't had a team in two or three years and we wanted to be the guys to kind of bring Yorkton minor baseball back up in the midget level.
Untereiner also mentioned that registration for the camps is still open, despite training already being underway. "We're always looking for new guys, especially for a first time camp. We're looking to get as many kids out as possible."
The former Division I star stressed the fact that with baseball in other Saskatchewan markets continually getting stronger, that Yorkton had to do something or risk being left behind. "Regina has always had a very good program, Saskatoon, even Melville and the fact that Yorkton hasn't had a midget program for two or three years, for any ball player in general that would be disappointing to hear.
"So any kid that wants to come out can contact us, all of our information is on our website (www.rbitraining.com), and it's just a matter of getting them out here and getting them into the Gloria Hayden Centre and getting them back into baseball shape."
It's worth noting that Untereiner is not the only instructor at the camp. Jarrett Duchscher, a former pitcher for the Regina Red Sox and the Minot State Beavers, has been assisting Untereiner in Yorkton and has been extremely helpful, especially from a pitching perspective. "Jarrett (Duchscher) has been great so far here," offered Untereiner. "It's always good to have a good pitcher for the kids to learn from."
Local midget baseball player Tannum Wyonzek, who spent last season playing for the SESBL's Canora Supers, feels that he has already benefited from the RBI Baseball camp. "It's pretty good. We're learning a lot of new stuff and it's fun to get some people that have experience come here to Yorkton and teach us."
Wyonzek also appreciates the fact that someone from outside of Yorkton is not only actively trying to improve Yorkton's baseball players, but is doing so by coming to Yorkton; something that, in the past, was rarely the case. "It's good to see them come out here instead of having us go there (Regina)," mentioned Wyonzek, continuing, "It's good because it's going to help us rejuvenate the program and also it's nice to see that somebody is looking into the smaller areas for baseball players."
The RBI Baseball camp will continue to run this Sunday from 2:00-5:00p.m. at the Gloria Hayden Centre through to the middle of March. This means that any baseball player who is interested in joining the sessions is encouraged to get in contact with RBI Baseball via their website www.rbitraining.com, or visit their Facebook page RBI Regina Baseball and Softball Indoor Training Center.
