Canadian Junior Little League Championship underway

By Lethbridge Herald on July 23, 2024.

Mike Miller, of the Lethbridge Fire Department Pipes and Drums, leads the way for teams of Junior Little League baseball players from across the country as they parade onto the field for the opening ceremonies of the Canadian Junior Little League Championships Tuesday at Spitz Stadium. Herald photo by Ian Martens

Justin Sibbet – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As the sun shines brightly in southern Alberta, a pitcher takes the mound with a batter at the plate. Game on.

The 2024 edition of the Canadian Junior Little League Championship is officially underway at Spitz Stadium. Seven teams from across the nation are facing off over the next week to see who gets to play at the World Series in Taylor, Michigan next month.

This year marks the 14th year Lethbridge has hosted the event, with gaps only occurring because of the pandemic. Kevin Kvame, tournament director, says this event is always a joy to put on.

“It kind of gives us a sense of pride in the community to see these kids walk into Spitz Stadium and believe that ‘oh wow, we get to play here?’ Their faces just lit up with joy as they participate in the event.”

Kvame, who is also the general manager of the Lethbridge Bulls, says his behind-the-scenes team has a lot of work to do when organizing and operating this tournament, but they are always up to the task.

“We’ve done it for so long that it just becomes second nature to the operation here,” said Kvame.

The teams are housed at Lethbridge Polytechnic, formerly known as Lethbridge College, in what Kvame calls an “athletes’ village.” 

James Stewart is the head coach of Team Prairies, out of Saskatchewan. He says this tournament always offers a great experience for the young players.

“The team is excited. It’s been a long time coming,” said Stewart. “We’ve been getting ready for this for the past month or so.”

He says the event also helps his team form closer bonds with one another as the week progresses.

“It builds a lot of camaraderie between the guys,” said Stewart. “These kids have played together a lot of the season, so it’s just a great experience.”

Not all teams are from outside of Alberta, however. Team Lethbridge can play right here at home. 

Jasper Vanrobaeys, a 14-year-old two-way utility player for the home team U15’s, says he is just soaking in everything the tournament has to offer.

“We’re just going to have fun. We’re going to play our best and win or lose, we’ll have some fun,” said Vanrobaeys.

Despite playing at home, his team still gets to stay in the athletes’ village, which he says is a truly wonderful experience.

“Even just staying in the dorms, it just feels like you’re so much older than 14,” said Vanrobaeys. 

He says his team is ready to take down any opponent they face, so long as they keep their heads on straight. 

“We can beat really good teams when we play as a team, when everybody just does their part, nobody tries to be the hero” said Vanrobaeys. “It just goes really good, it goes smooth and we win games.”

One of the coaches from Lethbridge, Dalton Demers, says the team is drastically improved from just a year ago as they prepare to take the tournament by storm.

“We have far bigger players, far more professional players in the sense of completing the fundamentals and just doing the little things right,” said Demers.

While he praised his pitching staff, he says his team is offensively a powerhouse as they enter the tournament.

“I’d say hitting is our absolute weapon right now,” said Demers. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can really drive the ball in the gap, we have guys that get on base, we have guys that can steal. So, I would say, (offense) is our biggest strength.”

This is the first year Demers is coaching the team and he says the overall experience is nostalgic as he takes to the dugout for the first time in a decade.

“It kind of takes me back to when I did the same thing 10 years ago when I was 14,” said Demers. “It’s really exciting, it’s a great competition, great baseball and you can just see it in the kids faces, they’re happy to be here.”

The tournament opened last night with Team Lethbridge taking on Team Prairies. The weeklong event will culminate in the championship game on July 31.