{"id":171,"date":"2005-05-11T23:16:58","date_gmt":"2005-05-12T07:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=171"},"modified":"2005-05-11T23:19:41","modified_gmt":"2005-05-12T07:19:41","slug":"selection-to-canadian-jr-men%e2%80%99s-tryout-%e2%80%98opportunity-of-a-lifetime%e2%80%99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/?p=171","title":{"rendered":"Selection to Canadian Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tryout \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOpportunity of a lifetime\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another in a continuing series from Pat Healey, Marketing Consultant, ISF 2005 Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Softball Championships (June 24-July 3, 2005)<\/em>
\n
\nSill, Thomas among four N.S. softball players trying out<\/strong><\/p>\n

BROOKFIELD, N.S. \u00e2\u20ac\u201c A pair of Nova Scotian star softball players with the East Hants High Tide hope to make good on an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcopportunity of a lifetime\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Bobby Sill of Birch Hill, near Brookfield and Steve Thomas of Hardwoodlands, near Milford are heading to the Canadian Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Softball team tryout camp with the intent of making the team and playing before family and friends at the ISF 2005 Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Softball Championships June 24 to July 3 in Summerside. Sill, who comes from Birch Hill, just outside Brookfield in central Nova Scotia, is among three Nova Scotians selected to the 30-man tryout roster for the Canadian Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team that will represent the country as hosts of the ISF 2005 Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Softball Championship in Summerside, PEI from June 24 to July 3. He showed people what he can do at last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Canadian Midget Boy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Nationals in Summerside, as he flashed both his glove and bat for the East Hants High Tide. <\/p>\n

Donnelly Archibald of Aspen utility player Tyler Hawes of Popes Harbour, who played QMJHL hockey with the PEI Rocket and pitcher Steve Thomas of Hardwoodlands, near Milford, were the other Nova Scotians selected to the camp. “It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an opportunity of a lifetime…not too many guys get a chance like this,” Sill said in an interview Sunday night. “I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m honored to be one of the 30 invited to the tryout camp.” The tournament will likely be the first and only chance that Sill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friends and family will get to see him play this year as he leaves next week for Western Canada after signing a deal with a team run by Tom Taylor in British Columbia. Team Canada will hold a selection camp June 10-15 at the University of Waterloo before heading for two full days of training in Halifax, N.S. June 16-18 and then arrive in Summerside June 20. “All I could do was smile,” Sill, 19, said recalling his reaction when he was informed he had made the selection roster. Sill, a goalie with the Brookfield Elks of the Nova Scotia Jr. B Hockey League has had a tight schedule training wise with hockey in the picture. “Hockey has helped to keep me in shape.” His routine includes going to the gym, three days a week and running, and he has recently started in the gym with the Nova Scotia Canada Games softball team. After Sill\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hockey season ended with the Elks, the Maritime Jr. A Hockey League\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Truro Bearcats called him up, and he helped backstop the Bearcats to the league championship as backup goalie. Because of his commitment to ball, Sill is unable to play with Truro at the Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian Hockey Championships hosted by the Yarmouth Mariners this week. Sill, a Grade 12 student at South Colchester Academy, suited up with the Brookfield Elks of the Coca Cola Major Fastball League in 2004, which featured teams from Halifax Keith\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Antigonish Jr\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Kinkora (PEI) Hitmen and Brookfield. “I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping to do well at camp, hit the ball well and play solid defense,” the outfielder-third basemen added. “I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to disappoint them.” An added bonus for Sill is this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ISF tournament location \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in Summerside, P.E.I. “That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great,” Sill added when asked about the location of the event. “It makes it easier for my family and friends to come over and watch me play. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I want to make the team, not to mention to play before a
\nhometown pro-Canadian crowd.” <\/p>\n

THOMAS \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSURPRISED\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 TO MAKE TEAM <\/p>\n

Steve Thomas was surprised at his selection, but at the same time \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthrilled and excited.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think with the amount of good pitchers in Canada that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever get an invite,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. The 19 year-old pitcher will be going into an electrical course at NSCC in the fall, and will not be doing what many of his former teammates are. Sill and fellow Canadian tryout players Mark Lewis and Jonathan Kane, both from Newfoundland and Labrador, are going west to play ball, but Thomas is staying home. He will be suiting up for the Nova Scotia Canada Games squad, which is a combination of the High Tide and Musqudobit Harbour Mariners. Thomas believes last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Canadian Midget Boys Fast Pitch Nationals helped in his selection to the tryout camp.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you have one good tournament that definitely helps,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Thomas said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you perform when everyone (scouts) is around, then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get noticed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what it all comes down to \u00e2\u20ac\u201c playing and performing in the big games.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Thoams who works on a dairy farm has been doing cardio workouts, training in the gym, pitching and practicing with the Nova Scotia Canada Games team in preparation for the June 10-15 camp at the University of Waterloo. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice that the games are in Summerside, but it would have also been nice to go to another country,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Thomas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another in a continuing series from Pat Healey, Marketing Consultant, ISF 2005 Jr. Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s World Softball Championships (June 24-July 3, 2005) Sill, Thomas among four N.S. softball players trying out BROOKFIELD, N.S. \u00e2\u20ac\u201c A pair of Nova Scotian star softball players with the East Hants High Tide hope to make good on an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcopportunity of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,11,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/morningbrief\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}