A special run for the 18U AAA South Central Cubs in Winnipeg this past weekend was capped off by the team winning gold, claiming the Western Canada Baseball Championship.
One for all, all for winning
"It was a collective team effort," coach Paul Schaak says proudly. "Everyone on the roster contributed positively to the weekend. Everyone did something well, and everyone played a pretty significant role. We were missing some players due to other commitments this weekend, so we used everyone on the roster, and it was cool to see all the guys buy in and play together."
Winning the last game of the year
Heading into the big tournament, Schaak admits he wasn't sure how the team was going to do after a tough lead in. "We were really unsure going in, because we had an emotional let down after provincials, and we were off for a little bit between that and Westerns, so we went into it, we were not sure what the vibes of the guys were going to be. But, we could tell pretty early on that the guys really, really wanted it, really wanted to win. We told them yesterday, it's always great when you can end your season with a win, that's usually a good thing. I wouldn't say there was magic in the air, but the guys played hard, they played the game the right way, and the results ended up in our favour."
Defense dominates
"I think an area that made us victories over the weekend was our defense," Schaak says with a smile. "Generally, balls are not hit quite as hard, so you have to rely on your defense, whether it be infield, outfield, behind the plate, or on the mound, everywhere, we picked up the ball and played catch, we did a really good job with that. There were a few games where we either got out hit, or they had just as many hits as we did, and because we played better defense, we won."
Strong defensive teams usually means that everybody can feel like they contributed to the team winning, and Schaak says that was the case with this Cubs team, and it was special to see the group respond. "There were guys who probably didn't play as much as they would have liked during provincials, and there were a couple guys on our team that got three or four games this weekend, after a bit of maybe a personal let down during provincials, that played a huge role, including in the finals. That was really good to see. Everyone leaving the weekend can feel like they contributed, and were a major part of the team."
Counting down the outs
In the final game, a huge timely hit provided some breathing room, but Schaak admits to being on the edge, counting down the outs to celebration. "In the sixth inning, we had the bases loaded with just one out, and one of our younger guys his a massive bases clearing double, which put us up by four. Had that not happened, we'd have gone into that final inning only up by one, which could leave everyone feeling tighter. That cushion proved to be huge, because they started the seventh inning with a lead off double, and that wasn't nearly as important because of the runs before. We had a nice lead, and it was really cool to see the boys all run out onto the field when we made the final out, you could tell they were excited. They felt like the accomplished what we went there to do."
Long, emotional road
When it's all said and done, when that final out is made, Schaak says it's an emotional high, but also a harsh realization of sorts. "Oddly enough, it's kind of bitter sweet," he explains with a grin. "A lot of these guys, myself, along with Bobby Matuszewski, and Cam Kirkby, we've coached these guys at different levels, and over different years. A lot of these grade 12's, for me, I've coached them for three years, but the other two coaches have done it more than that. It's really kind of bitter sweet. Bitter in the fact that spending all that time together is coming to and end, but sweet, obviously because you cap it off with a championship. Kind of when you have a winning season like this, those memories hold on to you. There are season you remember, and I'm hoping for our kids, this is a season that they remember for a long time into their lives."
Standout supporters
People around the team made the weekend even more special, and Schaak says the boys appreciated all the support throughout the year. "It was awesome, we had a lot of people come out, not just family, but friends. It was really cool, over the course of the season, all of Winkler, Altona, Morden, different parents from the communities showed tremendous support. Us coaches have our own families, but it's so easy to put everything into it when you have a great group of parents and kids that make up the team. All the little things of helping at practice, working in the community and just wanting to help any way they can, they make it all the more special. It meant a lot to us coaches, and we appreciated it."
Paul Schaak will get a little rest, but soon will be turning his attention to a fall program, starting up the Warriors again this year.