Much attention has been given - and deservedly so - to the local baseball talent that are produced at the culmination of just under a decade spent within the competitive environment fostered by a handful of Sudbury and area organizations.
Still, every so often, it's nice to stop and return to where it all so often begins.
The Sudbury U9 Shamrocks have welcomed aboard 13 youngsters to their summer roster that is preparing to tackle Baseball Ontario Championships in Sault Ste Marie this weekend as a DS (Dedicated Select) entry.
Though the kids had garnered some experience to the basics of hit, catch, throw and run, there are at least a handful of facets of the game where the move to a true rep baseball landscape is beginning to take place.
"Prior to this, the focus is on fundamentals and mechanics," said head coach Nick Zinger, all while acknowledging that fine-tuning every single skill-set never really stops happening, even at the major league level.
"Now, we try and move them towards "baseball" plays, thinking about turning double plays, understanding who is taking the bag on a hit to the outfield."
In fact, it's been a particular source of pride to watch this team record a pair of outs on the same play - an occurrence that typically happens far more often by the time the athletes are reaching the U12/U13 age brackets.
"Fielding an infield ground ball, firing it to two and throwing it over to one has become routine for them," said Zinger. "It's amazing to watch such little people pull that off."
Much of the credit for that comes from the work the lads have put in at weekly practice sessions - and their willingness to listen and learn.
"Sometimes at practice, we fake-hit a ball with people on base to work on our double plays," explained nine year-old Callum Digby, having played Jr Voyageurs last year and sliding over to the Shamrocks in 2025.
"But the goal of the baserunner is to try and run fast, before they can get to you," he added. "You want to run through the base at first; never slide in to first. Running is quicker than when you slide in."
While propping up the defensive game is nice, it won't mean a whole heck of a late if the team cannot score runs.
Given that the pitching machine in use at U9 DS slings the ball in significantly faster than the previous manually-operated version that most would have known, developing a proper swing to generate the necessary bat speed is critical.
"You see the first pitch and then try and put the bat where the first pitch was - and that's how I hit it out in the outfield sometimes," stated Digby.
With four home runs to his credit this year, teammate and fellow R.L. Beattie student Anson Zinger seems to be among the many on this team who are grasping the concept quite nicely.
"You just want to get a base hit," said Zinger. "You mainly want to try and get a base hit, but base hits lead to home runs."
With all players assured of spending about 60% of their positioning time in the infield, it only stands to reason that the U9 Shamrocks can recite one of the basic tenets of ground ball defense in their sleep.
"You always want to make sure that you put your body in front of the ball," said (Anson) Zinger. "The ball can bounce off your glove. Some people are too cool, but really, the best way is to get it like a crocodile" - which is to emulate the opening and closing of a crocodile jaw with the top hand guiding the ball into the bottom glove.
Good thing these lads are on their toes at all times.
"I really like third base," said Digby. "I get a lot of ground balls and fly balls there - and when we played in Guelph, I got a line drive. It hit the palm of my glove and it went back and hit my chest - but I got the out."
Rounding out the 2025 Sudbury U9 Shamrocks team roster are Skyler Lytle, Darcy Mott, Kye van Lankvelt, Henry Gibbons, Innes Beviss-Challinor, Rowan Daviau, Benjamin St Jean, Troy Michelutti, Theodore Gareau, Maxwell Renaud, Kip Belanger, coaches Toon van Lankvelt, Terry Renaud, Matthew Mott and team manager Jill Kirwan-Daviau.
