[templatic_contentbox type=”normal” title=”Major Mosquito London Badgers”] Back row (left to right): Coaches Stephen Miron, Jon Magwood, Brian Harvey, Rob Cascaden Middle row: Chase Rollings, Ben Harvey, Josh Vandenberghe, Will Snider, Owen Magwood, Jaden Martelle Front row: Ryan Miron, Lucas Desroches, Dylan Baker, Solomon Harwood, Ethan Cascaden, Billy Sadler [/templatic_contentbox]
The Major Mosquito (2005 birth year) London Badgers are the AAA association at that age level and play in the London and District Baseball Association (LDBA) Minor Peewee league (2004 birth year). In tournaments and provincial championships, the team plays at the major mosquito level.
The squad is made up of 12 players from around the LDBA. Some of them played against each other last season. But they’ve joined forces this year, and playing with a TEAM-first mindset has been the focus for the Major Mosquito Badgers.
“We sat down with the TEAM at the beginning of the season to discuss some of the goals we would like to achieve throughout the year,” said coach Stephen Miron. “Team concepts and plays are starting to surface, as the boys advance with every week we are together. To achieve the goals that have been set out by the TEAM, we all need to communicate and encourage each other throughout the process.”
Some of those goals are being aggressive – particularly on the base paths and stealing a lot of bases. There are goals for how many batters the team’s pitchers want to strike out per game. Two of the season-long goals are to finish 4th or better in LDBA league play, and to be playing on Championship Sunday of the Provincial Championships on Labour Day weekend in Windsor.
“We have been challenging the team with different tasks during each game to keep them sharp and focused,” said Miron. “The coaching staff has been focused on fundamental skills with the players since the spring. We have encouraged the boys to throw first-pitch strikes and hit locations, and that is something that we do well.”
The Badgers had already played in three tournaments before July (Vaughan, London and Hamilton), where they got to play many different teams from around the province. They were scheduled to travel to Mississauga for a tournament in early July, and then to Michigan for another tourney in mid-July.
Story By SportsXpress Team, contributions from Stephen Miron
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