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Fort McMurray’s 13U baseball team had a rough time at the 13U National Western Championships as the team lost every game they played. The team’s coach, Keith Breen, is proud of how hard the athletes worked this past weekend.

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“We were out-skilled, but what went right is the kids trust the things they learned throughout the season. They used those skills in games and a lot of them became better teammates this weekend. Their backs were against the wall and they learned to rely on each other,” said Breen.

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“These are the best AAA teams in western Canada and we’re a good AA team. We’ve got AAA players mixed among us but not enough to fish out.”

The team lost 15-4 to Saskatchewan, 13-3 to British Columbia, 13-3 to Manitoba and 18-3 in a second game against Manitoba.

“They’re great kids. They got beat up today but none of them are crying, none of them are upset right now. They know it’s just a game,” said Breen after the final loss to Manitoba.

“Our team battled every single game. They competed and that’s all we can ask for. We didn’t come in here thinking we were gonna win a championship, we came in here wanting to compete and I thought we competed to the best of our ability.”

Breen is still happy that so many people from Fort McMurray came out to support the team and is grateful for volunteers. The games were all at J. Howard Pew Park and Bob Campbell Field. As the host community, Fort McMurray was guaranteed a local team.

Breen admires how hard the athletes played, and hopes meeting the other teams will motivate the athletes to aspire to a higher level of baseball.

In the end, Team Alberta won gold and silver went to Team Saskatchewan. Bronze went to Team British Columbia.

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