The Zone 8 Under-14 boys fastball team that will swing for gold at the B.C. Summer Games will be loaded with Prince George talent.
Tryouts for the club were held at the Northern Sport Centre recently. At the end of the sessions, eight P.G. players were awarded roster spots. Locals on the team are Brandon Hanson, Austyn Boulding, Cody Boulding, Graham Walkey, Danny Hansen, Dylan Savory, Spencer Dempsey and Logan Seager. Red Rock's Nick Olson also made the club. Other roster spots went to Brandon Moore and Trevor Moore of 100 Mile House and Darian Griffin and Devon Craig of Valemount.
The team -- which will represent the Cariboo Northeast region at the Summer Games -- will be led by Prince George resident Bill Ollingner, whose staff includes Blair Walkey and Tarissa Boulding. All the players are well-known to the coaches. Based on that knowledge, Ollinger expects the squad to compete well at the Games, July 19-22 in Surrey.
"It's going to be a pretty well-oiled machine," Ollinger said. "We've got three good pitchers with Brandon Hanson, Austyn Boulding and Brandon Moore, out of 100 Mile House. They will be our three guns."
Cody Boulding, at age 12, is the youngest player on the team.
"He's a man among boys," Ollinger said. "He has moved up to the peewee [13- and 14-year-old] division because he's just too talented and too big to be in the squirt [11- and 12-year-old] division this year. He has come a long way. He legitimately made the team."
The Zone 8 squad will start practicing outdoors in early May, and not just in Prince George.
"We're going to be traveling to Valemount, to 100 Mile House, to have some practices there and we'll try to arrange some mini tournaments against teams in those areas," Ollinger said.
