Drumheller Raptors pitcher Matthew Northrup, 10, delivers one to a Delburne batter in their 12-7 loss Tuesday night at the Little League park.
The Raptors’ defence shut down the Delburne Jackalopes in the last inning, and while Drumheller’s bats were hot they couldn’t quite catch up before the last out.
Next Wednesday the Raptors travel to Delia and on Thursday play in Trochu, with their next home game not until May 31.
The Senior Titans are back on the field getting ready for the coming season.
Spring training is underway and so far coach Ken Fournier has more than 20 players coming out to get in shape and learn skills. He is happy with the turnout, but says the team could always use more.
“We can outfit 50 kids, but we would like to see about 40 in the fall,” said Fournier.
This year, he says the team has good size and experience returning. He is also excited about the new crop of players coming up.
“We have a mix between guys who will be going into Grade 12 this fall, and guys
who are going into Grade
10,” he said. “We have a good spread, we have some size and it looks like a fairly athletic group.”
There are some changes this year for the team that could allow more players to hit the field. The have left the Rangeland League. Fournier says this will help them develop more players.
“It will benefit us because it will allow us to play tier-appropriate games,” explains Fournier. “These are teams where we can get young guys in the game and develop them, instead of only a couple plays at the end of the game. We will be against teams that are more matched size and skill wise.”
“Everybody is out here because they want to play the game. We need to find a away to get them on the field.”
This means the team is not in a formal league, however it appears they are having no problems filling a schedule.
“We are independent this year with hopes that there will be a Tier IV League starting in 2017,” he said. “Already I have nine games scheduled, five are Tier IV opponents and four are higher tiers. So a couple of stronger teams.”
He adds that five of these games are home games, that is more than the last two years while playing in Rangeland.
The team is heading to Lethbridge this week for a one–on–one Jamboree with Catholic Central High School.
The U14 Drumheller soccer team is playing well, after a convincing victory of over Carstairs.
The U14s hosted Carstairs on Tuesday, May 3. They played strong and went home with a 6-3 victory. Coach Martha Chambers is excited by her team’s play, and their maturity.
“That’s what is nice as they get older, they care more and want to win more and try harder,” said Chambers. “We are trying to give everyone a run for their money.”
The team has had a strong start to the season with a 5-0 win over Bowden and then a 2-2 tie with Irricana.
“That tie is really irritating everybody,” she chuckles. “It was one of those games where you had it and then you lost it.”
There is still a lot of season to go and Chambers says they are facing some tough competition moving forward.
“Olds is always good, I think they won the league last year, and Didsbury is good this year,” she said, adding that Linden often fields strong teams.
She says that the whole team has experience and many have been playing together for a few years.
“It makes it a lot easier to coach them. You don’t have to work to find drills, they understand when they know what you are talking about,” said Chambers.
On Thursday, May 5, the U14s played Carstairs, results were not available at presstime. On Thursday, May 12, they face Cremona.
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