Young players hoping to play high level baseball this season can tryout for the Mid Island Pirates Feb. 27-28. Anyone age 12-19 can showcase their skills in front of Pirates coaches at the Arbutus Meadows Equestrian Centre. (Mid Island Pirates)

By Dan Marshall

Pirate Tryouts

Mid Island Pirates gearing up for new season with annual tryouts

Feb 25, 2021 | 5:20 PM

NANAIMO — A new season is around the corner for the Mid Island Pirates.

The team will hold tryouts for their senior, junior and bantam teams Feb. 27 and 28 at the Arbutus Meadows Equestrian Centre.

Mid Island co-general manager and senior Pirates head coach Larson Bauck told NanaimoNewsNOW one of the main goals is projecting which athletes have the potential to excel.

“We’re looking for athleticism. Can they run? what’s their arm like? Can they generate bat speed? As coaches we have to determine if their athletic ability can turn into them being a fundamentally good baseball player.”

Bauck added there will be COVID-19 protocols in place and parents won’t be allowed to watch but otherwise the tryouts will be the same as usual.

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“We always host our tryouts at Arbutus because it’s a big centre and we can fit all of the kids in there. It’s the same format and layout as in previous years”

The Pirates run the tryouts indoors in February to give anyone who doesn’t make the team lots of time find another spot to play baseball.

Over the two days, coaches will hold a total of four 90 minute sessions. Two for the 15-19 year old age group and another two for ages 12-14.

Players are welcome to come from throughout the Pirates catchment area which spans from Mill Bay to Nanoose Bay.

Bauck and co-general manager Brandon Dornan both coach boys in Nanaimo Minor Baseball and also sit on the board.

They’ve seen almost every competitive player in the city already so they have a good feel for most of the young local talent.

“Our job is to build the numbers with Nanaimo Minor Baseball and promote the game at the lower ages to get as many kids in the game as we can,” Bauck said. “That’s what it’s about, the more kids the better it is for minor baseball and ultimately for the Pirates program as well.”

Without a 2020 season the Pirates senior team hasn’t played a BCPBL game since the club had it’s best regular season ever in 2019.

April is typically the start up of the league but COVID-19 restrictions will dictate how the season unfolds.

The current plan is for the Pirates to play an eight week schedule in a pod of four Vancouver Island teams including the Victoria Eagles, Victoria Mariners and Parksville Royals.

At the conclusion of those eight weeks there will be a two week break and then Mid Island would join a pod with three other teams from the lower mainland to play for another eight weeks.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

dan.marshall@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @danmarshall77