The field house at the Northern Sport Centre transformed into a field of dreams Saturday.
The venue on the UNBC campus hosted the annual spring evaluation camp for Prince George Youth Baseball as athletes were put through the paces in fielding, base running and hitting.
"We're dealing with the largest groups of players who are going into house league teams," said PGYB all-star coordinator Dean Kazakoff. "We're trying to make sure the kids are equally distributed."
Those teams include the tadpoles (ages seven and eight), mosquitos (ages nine and 10) and peewees (ages 11 and 12).
About 60 players in the tadpoles and mosquitos were on deck Saturday. Kazakoff said the participant numbers all depend on the success of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays every year.
"Our numbers are stable, but it's not like it was back in the '80s," said Kazakoff. "We do have a number of new kids playing baseball. (And) this is the first time we've taken some of the younger coaches and brought in some of the older, more experienced coaches to mentor them."
Among those helping out at the evaluations were a pair of players who compete on the Prince George Knights double-A midget team - Kyle Gendron and Myles Kazakoff.
"It's good to be a role model and set an example for the younger kids," said Gendron, an 18-year-old outfielder. "I just like to encourage them. (Baseball) is a fun team sport and I've met a lot of people through it."
For Myles Kazakoff, he's donned a glove since he was four years old. He still loves the game.
"It's nice to see the (younger) kids have the same passion as I do," said the 18-year-old outfielder. "Having fun is the main thing and always staying positive and work your hardest."
Jacob Anker, 12, is going into his second year on the peewee double-A Knights. The shortstop/infielder was acting as an assistant at the evaluations.
He also dished out some advice to the athletes.
"You have to keep your eye on the ball when you're hitting and in the outfield," he said.
As for the Prince George Knights double-A all-star squads, Bobby Weightman and Josh Young will oversee the mosquitos. Buck Schmidt is managing one peewee team, while the coach for the second team has yet to be determined. Denny Astorino will coach the bantams, while Shane Taylor will oversee the midgets.
The Knights, as well as the house league teams, will take to the diamond as soon as the City of Prince George gives them the clear signal, hopefully by the end of April.
