When Barry Chamberlain, Larry Mehrer and the 13 other players on the Deloitte's Old Sticks senior men's slo-pitch team show up at tournaments across British Columbia opposing teams are usually shaking in their cleats.
"They usually say, 'Oh no Prince George is here,'" said Chamberlain.
That's because ever since the team was put together in 2008 they've scored two gold and a silver medal at the B.C. 55-Plus Senior Games. In 2008 when Prince George hosted the Games, the Old Sticks won gold and repeated the triumph in 2011 in Castlegar. In 2009 they brought the silver back from Richmond. The only blip on their radar was in 2010 in Campbell River.
"We had a couple of close games that could've went our way, but didn't, and that cost us the chance to get in the medal round," said Chamberlain. "I think the other teams were pretty excited we didn't get to the medal round because we were getting pretty strong by the end of the tournament. We were kicking butt pretty good and they were getting worried."
The team will try and add a third gold medal to their arsenal this week in Burnaby where the 2012 Senior Games will be played. Slo-pitch gets underway Wednesday at the Riverway Fields. The Old Sticks will compete in the 55-plus division against teams from Nanaimo, Abbotsford, Kamloops and Quesnel.
In addition to practicing at the North Nechako Softball fields the Old Sticks played in the mixed slo-pitch league this summer where they finished fourth with a 10-13-1 record. The players on the Old Sticks range in age from 55 to 68 while the average age in the slo-pitch league is about 30.
"We're about double the age of all the players we play against on average," said Chamberlain, 60. "We can't match them skill for skill because of course they're that much younger and faster but we do fairly well. We're much improved this year over last year against the young people."
Chamberlain migrated to Prince George from his hometown of Hamilton, Ont., where he played senior double-A ball with the Hamilton Cardinals after impressing the MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates at an open tryout. A pitcher in his youth, Chamberlain's major league dreams ended when his arm wore down, which eventually led to surgery to his elbow to remove the bone chips and fragments that were floating around.
He was one of the young guns in Prince George slo-pitch until about six years ago.
"I was just about 54 and I was playing here with the young guys and I felt my skill levels were starting to go down," said Chamberlain, who plays shortstop these days. "I got a phone call from one of the fellows on the team [Dominic] Demarzo and he said, 'Hey we're thinking of putting a team together.'
"I came out here and I met some of the guys who are a lot older than I am and still playing the game and they inspired the heck out of me," he added. "Everyday I throw a ball in my backyard. I love the game. I probably love it now more than I did when I was a kid."
Chamberlain's wife Kim and Mehrer, the Old Sticks coach/player, will attest to his love of the game, though Kim tends to get frustrated when he pays more attention to his glove than to her.
"He studies the position and he always makes really good plays," said Mehrer about Chamberlain's commitment.
Mehrer said his shortstop would probably even sleep with his glove if he could.
"He'd probably like to but his wife would probably throw it out," he laughed.
Other members of the Old Sticks include: Charles Buchan, George Korack, Bruce Thornton, Darwin Buehler, Tony Bennett, Bill Reid, Dale MacFarlane, Mark Knoedler, Jim Harders, Mike Artinyk, Ron Scheck and Ken Rose.
Mehrer took over as coach three years ago after Demarzo decided to concentrate on his role in the outfield. He said it's enjoyable trying to figure out what players will do well in certain positions.
"There's no magic formula you just put them in there and hope they do the best they can," said Mehrer.
The Old Sticks begin their gold-medal quest Wednesday against Nanaimo at 10:30 a.m., before playing Kamloops at 1:30 p.m. Thursday the Old sticks play Abbotsford at 9 a.m. and wrap up the day at 3 p.m. against Quesnel. Friday's games are TBA based on records as the double-knockout portion of the tournament starts.
