THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Border Cats players spent part of Friday morning playing games, tossing balls, and sharing smiles with the young students at École Gron Morgan.
“Today is about the community, getting around the kids and having our players interact with the community as best as we possibly can, and try to create a few more baseball players in Thunder Bay if we can," said Cats manager Joe Ellison.
The Border Cats took part in athletic games with kindergarten students, encouraging movement and teamwork, while showing baseball is more than just a game.
“I feel like if you can play hockey, basketball, baseball at the same time, you might not be great at all three,” Ellison added, “but you might find that coordination earlier which leads you further along the road in whatever sport you choose.”
The kids’ excitement was matched by the players' enthusiasm. For southpaw Grant Ferris, the visit stirred up memories of his own childhood.
“I mean, I remember when I was young and I was coming out to all these camps and stuff and I really looked up to all these guys out here,” Ferris said. “So I mean, it's always good to give back now that I'm in that kind of position, you know what I mean?”
Ferris said the Border Cats are eager to return to the field after school seasons wrapped up.
“A lot of us are in the transfer portal right now, so I mean, a lot of us are looking forward to getting out on the field again,” he said. “It should be a lot of fun. Looking forward.”
For the educators, the morning was equally valuable. Emily Wihlidal, an early childhood educator at École Gron Morgan, emphasized the importance of introducing sports to young learners.
“Today is about connecting with the community, working on their coordination, the athleticism,” she said. “Our kids really love to be active and they love sports, so we thought what better opportunity than to partner with a community like this.”
She added the school has made sports a regular part of the curriculum.
“We work really hard to bring in as many sports as we can, especially this year, we’ve got a very sporty crew. We've brought in LU (Lakehead University) wrestling before. They'll be coming back again in a few weeks, and hopefully our skills will improve by then.”
The visit wrapped up with a group photo and a promise from the players: they’ll be cheering extra loud if they spot any of their new kindergarten teammates at a future Border Cats game.
“Yeah, we're coming back here I believe at the end of June,” Ellison said.
