YORKTON - Yorkton ball diamonds may still be under a thick blanket of snow but that didn’t stop young U13 Crush hopefuls from attending indoor try-outs on the weekend.
Coach Clorice Kuzek explained the try-outs, held in the Dr. Brass School gymnasium both Saturday and Sunday was laying the early groundwork to establishing a Crush U13 team which will be focused on a run at provincials July 18-20 in Regina.
The provincial squad with be made of 12 on-roster player, and up to three affiliated players, said Kuzek.
So the coach has decisions to make in the coming weeks as the two-day weekend try-out attracted 24 athletes, most from Yorkton but also hopefuls from Canora.
Kuzek said she liked what she saw from the players on the weekend.
“Yes, there’s a lot of amazing talent,” she told Yorkton This Week. “I’m really impressed with the numbers this year.”
Kuzek added at age 13 players really begin to understand the game adding at the level “it’s not the learn-to-play” level any longer. It becomes about developing skills to be competitive.
Once finalized the U13 provincial Crush team will play a series of ‘provincial grand slam tournaments’ which will focus on that skill development ahead of provincials.
The first tourney will by held May 24, and Yorkton will host in June.
For players not making the team Kuzek said the Crush organization is looking at options including establishing a second provincial-bound squad at a lower level of competition.
