By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
Road games will take on a whole new meaning for two Yarmouth County baseball players who will be spending three to four weeks this summer practicing, training and playing with an Ontario under-14 showcase team.
As if playing for the local and regional Seawolves AA and AAA teams this summer won’t keep them busy enough, Brad Jones and Brett Mercier will spend the early part of the baseball season training with the Bullett Proof Baseball Academy in the Niagara area in Ontario. The academy is run by former Major League Baseball player Scott Bullett, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. The U-14 team that Jones and Mercier will be involved with will play in the New York State Travel Team League and the Fergie Jenkins League. As a result, the two Yarmouth players will participate in showcase tournaments around Ontario, New York state and in the mid-west.
Jones and Mercier will train with Bullett during the week at his indoor facility and will practice and play with the team during evenings and on weekends.
“It gives them an opportunity to play with the top players in Ontario in their age group and to participate in tournaments that are scouted by prep schools, universities and pro teams,” says Doug Jones, who is Brad’s father and also a baseball coach to both players.
The majority of players on the U-14 Bullett Proof team are from southwestern Ontario, although there are a couple of players from New York state. Jones and Mercier are the only two players from any other Canadian province on the team. Both are looking forward what lies ahead.
“It should be a pretty good experience,” says Mercier.
“I can’t wait to play for the team,” adds Jones. “Scott Bullett is a former player and it will be pretty cool to play for him.”
Both Jones and Mercier will also spend this summer playing for the Seawolves. The Southwest Seawolves bantam AAA team is new to the local baseball scene. It’s a regional team made up of players from Yarmouth, Weymouth, Digby, Shelburne and Barrington. The team will be playing in a showcase tournament in Bridgewater this weekend.
The bantam AA version of the team is a Yarmouth-based team in the Yarmouth and Area Minor Baseball Association and will play games in the Nova Scotia Bluenose League. This team begins its season early next month.
