.JPG)
It was a strong weekend for the U15 AA South Central Cubs, culminating in the group earning a silver medal at provincials, a great reward for a hard working, close group.
"Pitching and defense wins," coach Phil Coggan says with a matter of fact tone combined with a sly smile. "Preached that all year. We got some amazing pitching performances from all our players."
Breaking down the latest provincials, Coggan can't speak highly enough about everyone on his team, but singles out a few as key reasons for success. "Our first game, we went with multiple pitchers, and they got the job done. Friday afternoon, we threw Silas Teichroeb and Nigel Waldner, they went 50 pitches and absolutely shutdown a very good hitting Carillon team. We only gave up two runs. Maxson Strydom had to come in for one batter, he struck him out. It was awesome. Saturday morning, Max gets the start, he walks nobody, he goes the complete game, he gets a couple of hits at the plate, he really showed up and had a great game. Saturday afternoon game, we get a couple kids in there, Oliver Wiens and Felix Friesen, they each pitched a couple of innings, and did really well. When we got into the playoff round, Rocky Thiessen went five innings, I think, against a good team in Fort Garry, then Nigel Waldner came in and finished it out. Final game, Silas Teichroeb pitched really well, he got us through five. Nigel came in, pitched really well, again. We just came up one run short. That was the pitching."
It wasn't just the performances on the mound that were impressive, says Coggan. "Our bats, our bats went wild," he says with a chuckle of glee. "We mercied three of the four teams, in the playoff round, we scored a lot of runs."
Described as a gritty, heart and soul group, Coggan says this run was special from early in the year. "We build up to provincials. We get to know the guys and what they can do. I like to wreak havoc on the bases when we get on there, so we always make sure we're getting good jumps and good leads, force guys to throw. We hope they do it against us, because when we have Silas and Christian Isfeld behind the plate, go ahead and try and run on us, good luck with that. Strong, gritty team, love the boys."
For a bunch of ball players from different areas, Coggan was perhaps most impressed with how close the group became. "From being from four or five, maybe six different towns, and when you look at the rivalries with Morden, Winkler, Carman and Altona, especially when it comes to hockey, a lot of these guys have played hockey together, but I think they have life long friendships now. It was really good that way. No infighting, they were great, great teammates."
Looking down the road for the program, Coggan couldn't be more thrilled that these athletes are that next wave coming through. "I'm so excited, especially when you look at our team, we only have two 2010 birthdays, the rest were all 2011 birthdays. So, for us to go up against a team like Portage, who only had four kids born in 2011, that was a huge accomplishment for them. That age between 13, 14, 15, there's a lot of stuff going on for a kids body. For our guys to show up and give them all that they can handle in that final, they have a great future going in here."
Coggan says there were many highlights throughout the year, but what made it extra special was the community of people around the team. "I can't say enough good things," the coach says with a smile. "Brittany Thiessen, our manager, she's a God send. She takes so much heat off the coaching staff doing what she does. Good communication with the parents all year, good participation, just can't say enough about the great time I had coaching these boys, especially with the parents and everything."