If blood is the tie that binds a championship softball team, the B.C. junior boys squad is packing a plentiful supply for the 2014 North American Aboriginal Games in Regina.
Of the seven Prince George players on the team, five are either brothers or cousins, part of the legendary Potskin-Ghostkeeper clan that's helped fastball thrive in the city for decades.
It's the type of chemistry that transcends the ball field and combined with the talent that's been assembled it just might be enough to put B.C. over the top in the eight-team tournament, which starts Wednesday.
"I predict we're going to win it, we have good hitting, good pitching and our fielding has come along well,' said Team B.C. third baseman Theo Potskin. "The men's league has us prepared to see high quality pitching and I don't think we''ll be surprised.
"We've known each other for so long, we know what everybody's going to do and how they will react."
Also on the team are Potskin's cousins, Tre and Nicholas Potskin, Tyson Ghostkeeper and Lane Desjarlais. The team includes two other local players -- Trent Seymour and Shelby Tom, originally from Burns Lake.
The Prince George players have been working on the field together the past few months playing in the Spruce City Major Men's Fastball Association, part of the Falcon Contracting team. While they rarely get to play their age group peers, the under-19 squad has benefited from seeing veteran adult ball players toss pitches and hit against them.
"We're a solid team and we're a good bunch of kids and that's the bond that will really help us down there, because we've been together all year," said Trent Seymour, 16, who will share the pitching duties with Josh Anderson of Surrey. "Some teams from other places get together and have to find that chemistry but we've built that through the year."
The team held a series of four tryout camps, two in Prince George, and one each in Kelowna and Vancouver. Two other Vancouver-area players -- brothers Clarke and Jordon Ohman -- as well as Zack Gottfriedson of Kamloops, are on Team B.C. Two others from the Southern Interior are unable to play due to work commitments and a third from Victoria is unable to play due to a knee injury. That leaves B.C. with just 11 players.
Outfielder Ghostkeeper, the other 16-year-old on the team, played fastball when he was a kid but switched to lacrosse. He started playing fastball again last year and like the rest of his team has been caught on well playing in the men's league.
"We have some fast guys and we'll probably be bunting a lot, Randy [coach Potskin] makes us bunt a lot," said Ghostkeeper. "We'll be trying to steal bases."
None of the players have played on a provincial fastball team, although four of them, the three Potskins and Desjarlais, won the provincial midget B boys baseball championship playing for Prince George last year.
The Games, which were first hosted in Edmonton in 1990, include about 10,000 athletes from all 13 provinces and territories and 13 regions in the U.S. They will compete in archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, canoeing, lacrosse, golf, rifle shooting, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
None of the U.S. states have entered the fastball tournament. B.C. plays Alberta in its first game on Wednesday.
Sydney Caplette and Tanelle Smith, both of Prince George, are playing for the B.C. under-19 girls softball team in Regina, while Martina Spooner of Prince George, is on the under-16 girls squad. The under-16 boys team from B.C. is coached by Keith Henry of Prince George and includes Brydon Lessard of Prince George and Fort St. James players Chris Tom, Clint Sam, Douglas Sam and Dante Joseph.
Two Prince George badminton players -- Jarin Davison and Courteney Anderson -- will play for their respective boys and girls U-16 teams in the Aboriginal Games.
