聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The grandson of a man whose name was synonymous with the Kamsack Royals fastball team for over 40 years, has been named the top peewee baseball player in Alberta.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Kobe Laevens, 13, son of Cam and Marci of Spruce Grove, Alta., and grandson of the late Octaaf and Cathy Laevens, is to receive the award on November 26 at the Alberta Baseball Awards banquet in Edmonton.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Octaaf Laevens coached fastball in Kamsack for over 40 years and both he and his wife dedicated much of their time to ball in Kamsack.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淢y mother passed away in Kamsack in 2003, but I still own the family farm just southeast of Kamsack,鈥� Cam told the Times last week as he talked about Kobe, the eldest of his two sons, who had recently been named the 2016 recipient of the award for being the top peewee baseball player in Alberta.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 grew up playing fastball and baseball in Kamsack and played college baseball in the United States,鈥� Cam said, adding that the award is a big honour for Kobe and for Spruce Grove baseball.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Accompanying some photos of himself and his son which he sent to the Times, Cam said that some of the pictures are with the Spruce Grove team called the Parkland Twins and some of the pictures are with the Calgary Cubs.
鈥淭he team from Calgary asked Kobe and I to attend the national peewee tournament in London, Ont. in September, which was another huge honour for him.
鈥淎s a catcher, Kobe threw out several base runners, as a pitcher his fastball was clocked at 78-79 mph and he did hit 24 home runs as a batter,鈥� he said.
鈥淎ll season long, Spruce Grove鈥檚 Kobe Laevens knocked it out of the park. Literally,鈥� said Mitch Goldenberg of the Spruce Grove Examiner. 鈥淭he Parkland Twins鈥� peewee AAA player used his powerful bat and a handful of eye-popping home runs to claim Baseball Alberta鈥檚 player of the year.
鈥淚 was pretty surprised, there are a lot of other talented guys,鈥� Kobe told the Examiner. 鈥淚 was definitely the biggest kid.鈥�
聽鈥淗e鈥檚 a man-child,鈥� Cam told the Examiner. 鈥淚鈥檓 five feet nine inches, my wife is five feet, two inches and he鈥檚 six-feet with size 14 shoes.鈥�
Kobe acquired important baseball instincts from his parents, both of whom played college ball south of the border. Both were middle infielders during their playing days and signed their son up for t-ball at the age of five.
鈥淭hey taught me how to be a good teammate,鈥� Kobe said. 鈥淭o always try my best and work as hard as I can all the time.鈥�
鈥淜obe picked up the ball glove and right away showed he was a natural,鈥� Goldenberg鈥檚 story said. 鈥淏y his sixth birthday, Cam says catch with Kobe was 鈥榣ike playing with a normal grown up.鈥� But the kid got bored with t-ball and left the game until he was nine.
鈥淏aseball eventually won Kobe over when he returned for mosquito ball, though he still plays defence for the bantam AAA PAC-Saints hockey team and is a power hitter for St. Thomas Aquinas鈥� volleyball squad,鈥� he said.
鈥淐am鈥檚 first 鈥榟oly cow鈥� moment with his son was during a mosquito tournament in 2013 when Kobe smacked a long home run with relative ease in the final inning of a tight game,鈥� Goldenberg said. 鈥淭he kid had power, and lots of it.
鈥淚n peewee, Kobe鈥檚 strength and ability at the plate multiplied. He crushed 22 home runs last summer, helped the Parkland Twins earn a berth at the Western Canadian Championships and then joined Team Alberta for nationals.
鈥淗is secret, unsurprisingly, is practice.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 repetition, going to the cages before the game to get into the mindset,鈥� Kobe told Goldenberg of his plate performance. 鈥淭he key is to get good extension and see the ball out in front of the bat.鈥�
鈥淜obe excelled this season both at the plate and behind it as the catcher,鈥� the story said. 鈥淗e also pitched occasionally, since his fastball exceeds 70 miles per hour and is certainly one of the fastest in the province at his age.鈥�
鈥淲atching him hit, if he鈥檚 not there with peewee kids and you had to guess his level by his bat speed, you might think he鈥檚 playing midget, which is for 16-to 18-year-olds,鈥� said Ryan Murphy, the Twins鈥� head coach. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 take long to spot him. If you just roll out to the park, you can pick him out pretty easily on the field unless you were to confuse him for one of the coaches.鈥�
鈥淜obe says he embraces the spotlight and doesn鈥檛 have too much trouble handling the pressure of being the centre of attention,鈥� the story said. 鈥淵ou sure have a lot of people looking at you all the time. I鈥檓 aware of that and I like it; sometimes, they鈥檙e really relying on me.鈥澛�
