Kyle Ainsley started out playing soccer in the Storrington League when he was very young but by the team he was 6 or 7 he had taken up baseball in Battersea, and he has never looked back. Hje has been a pitcher since he started.
Now 20 and an apprentive carpenter working for Bencze Construction in Inverary, he still finds time to pitch fastball with teams in the Kingston League and with the Port Perry Bulls on weekends. He came to the attention of the New york Merchants of Oswego at a tournament when he was pitching for he Bulls and they have invited him to pitch for them at the North American Fastball Association tournament in Fargo, North Dakota starting on August 9th. He will barely have a chance to settle down when he gets back from that tournament before he leaves for Grand Rapids Michigan for the World Under 21 Fastball tournament with the Port Perry Bulls.

What both teams will be counting on is Kyle’s 73 mile per hour fastball. He is also a lefthander, which is another cahllenge for batters. He aversages 10 -13 stikeouts in a 7 inning game, meaning as few as 8 or 9 batters even put the ball in play against him.

He is a pretty good hitter and runner, but when he is pitching, which is about half the time his teams play, it is his ability to shut down the opposing offcence that is prized by his team mates.

“Fastball takes up a lot of my time in the summers,” he said, “but even in the winter I practice quite a bit indoors,” he said, and he added that pitching in the US will be a big event for him because fastball is popular in the US.
“It’s bigger there than it is here, that’s for sure” he said.

For Kyle Ainsly, fastball is destined to remain a major past time over the next few years, whether with his own teams or as an invited player on International teams.

Most sports season here at GREC run Fall, Winter or Spring, not the Special Olympics! We started preparing for competition way back in October, which just shows the commitment these athletes have to their sport - and boy did it pay off!

Recently, a group of School to Community athletes traveled all the way to Brock University where they competed at the Special Olympic Provincial Championship.

There were over 800 athletes at the event competing in Basketball, Soccer, Bocce Ball and Track and Field. GREC competed in the soccer competition against 11 other teams from across Ontario and Canada.

During Day 1 of competition GREC tied two games and lost 1 game placing them into the B Division for the following day of competition. Day 2 the team really came together and played like superstars! Despite some jitters and a loss early in the day, our athletes overcame this and posted two 5-0 wins that involved incredible ball handling, constant passing, great communication and many shots on net. This put GREC in first place and on their way to the semi-final game where they beat NDSS 3-0, which secured their place in the gold medal game. In the end, GREC won the GOLD with a 1-0 win over Dennis Morris, a local favourite from St. Catherine's, Ontario.

I hope the memories you made this week will last a lifetime and encourage you to try your best in every situation that life may throw at you!

A special thank you to all the athletes, Ms. Steele and Mr. McCullough for the tremendous efforts over the last three days! We are so very proud of all you have accomplished.

The Gryphons look forward to next years Special Olympic competition, which will be held in Peterborough, Ontario from May 29th - May 31st, 2018.

“It’s a fun day for the community — and showing community spirit,” said Heather Hasler, registrar for Frontenac Minor Hockey Association, which includes the organization’s ball hockey component. “Everything is free, except for the barbecue.”

This was FMHA’s second Ball Hockey Day, held last Saturday at the Frontenac Arena. They’ve been holding similar events for many years but with the inclusion of the summer ball hockey leagues, it just made sense to feature the relatively new leagues.

The ball hockey program has grown since its inaugural year, to 20 teams in five divisions and four adult teams (“I’m playing myself,” said Hasler).

She said ball hockey is part of the Canadian Landscape and “It’s nice to see the arena in use during the off-season.”

Hasler said she’s “been coming to this place since it’s opened.”

One of the aspects of ball hockey she likes is that they’ve been getting “quite a few kids who don’t play hockey.”

Of course the ball hockey season is winding down (this Sunday is the final day) and Hasler is already thinking about the upcoming ice hockey season. The registration deadline is Aug. 31. After that, a $100 late fee applies.

The FMHA offers Learn-to-Skate, Initiation and Tyke programs as well as First Shift program for those who’ve never tried hockey before. Of course they also offer a full-range of house league and rep teams.

“And our novice rep team won the OMHA East CC championship last year, which was a first for us,” she said.

While Sunday’s get-together wasn’t a fundraiser, the FMHA does have financial needs just like any other sporting organization. To that end, they’ve scheduled the FMHA Rinks to Links Golf Tournament at the Rivendell Golf Club for Sept. 9. The Entry fee of $100 includes green fees, cart and a pork roast dinner as well as prizes.

They’re also looking for sponsors at the $500 and $100 level which includes an ad that will be on display at the Arena for events during the 2017-2018 season.

More information about registration and the golf tournament is available on their website www.frontenachockey.ca.

Remember when you were a kid, before school started, at recess, lunch hour, whenever you weren’t in class but were still required to be on the school grounds. Chances are, if there was no snow on the ground, every diamond on the property would be in use. In many Southern Ontario school grounds, the game was called ‘scrub.’

Call it what you will, softball, lob-ball, slo-pitch, whatever, the image of a ball glove slung over a bicycle’s handlebars was common.

When school let out for the summer, the game continued, often on open fields, with bases defined by dragging your heel in the dirt to delineate a less-than-perfect square. Often, rules were set by stomping home plate, as in ‘no lead-offs’ and/or ‘call your field’ if there weren’t enough players to cover all the positions. Players rotated through the positions and everybody got their turns at bat.

That generation has become seniors now, but the memories still linger.

So is it any wonder that seniors seem to be returning to the game, albeit with a slower-paced approach?

This summer, there are no less than three, and probably four teams (using the term ‘team’ loosely) operating in the northern areas of Frontenac and L & A Counties, whereas it wasn’t that long ago there were none.

Cloyne, Arden and Sharbot Lake all have seniors softball programs operating this summer, with Sharbot Lake being the new kids on the block.

By all accounts, things got started about five years ago when the late Don Patry and Lauder Smith put an ad in The Frontenac News asking if anybody wanted to get together once a week in Cloyne to play a little ball.

As it turns out, enough people did. Some of them were from the Arden area.

“My wife Karen and I along with the Pratts drove up there and enjoyed it so much we thought we’d try to get something similar going in Arden,” said Gord Brown, the de facto ‘commissioner’ of Arden seniors baseball.

That was three years ago and from an inaugural season of about 10-12 players, the Arden contingent grew to around 20.

One of those was Sharbot Lake’s Mike Procter, who this year started testing the waters to see if there was enough interest for a team there.

“I’ve had all sorts of inquiries,” Procter said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we could fill two teams.”

That doesn’t surprise Brown or Rick Guthrie, who is one of the main organizers in Cloyne.

“I was lucky enough to play rec league until 2013,” Guthrie said. “But in many ways, this (seniors ball) is better.

“It’s all of the fun, with none of the stress.

“When you go back and catch that fly ball, it’s just as much fun as it always was.”

“I always come home with a few aches and pains, but yes, it is fun,” said Brown. “You know we have quite a few players in their 70s and a couple are over 75.”

Another aspect of seniors ball is that while pick-up games in the ’60s tended to be more of a guys thing (although there always seemed to be a couple of girls in the game), seniors ball tends to be co-ed, with more females than males on many nights.

There’s no real ‘league’ of sorts but there is talk of games between the communities including a potential Canada 150 ‘tournament.’

At any rate, if you’re 50-something-plus, you may want to check it out this summer.

In Cloyne, games are Friday mornings at the field behind the tennis courts. Contact is Rick Guthrie 613-336-3460.

In Arden, games are Wednesday and Sunday evenings at the Arden ball field. Contact is Gord Brown, 613-335-4843.

In Sharbot Lake, games are Wednesday and Sunday evenings at the ball field. Contact is Mike Procter, 613-279-2572.

All you need is a glove and it’s all about just having fun.

Over 250 players between 3 and 18 are playing ball in the youth division of the Frontenac Ball hockey Assopciation in its second season. There are many returning players and ice hockey players but lots of new faces as well. Kids play on Sunday afternoons from noon to 8:00pm. The arena is packed with kids, families and fun. There is music playing, canteen and BBQ available with all proceeds going back into our Minor Hockey Programs.

Adults are getting in on the action this year as there is a 4 team league of for the 18 and older set that play on Tuesday evenings We hope to expand on this next year.

Although operational costs continue to increase, the Frontenac Minor Hockey Association has once again decided not to increase Ball Hockey and Ice Hockey registration fees. This is made possible by community contributions and fundraising events such as our Annual Rinks to Links Golf Tournament which will be held on Saturday September 9th at Rivendale Golf Club and is open to everyone.

The League is hosting a Fun Day at the Rink on Sunday, June 11. See Northern Happenings for details, or visit www.frontenachockey.ca or Facebook/Twitter.

Recently, the students in the School to Community Program at Granite Ridge Education Centre were selected to attend the Special Olympics Provincial Championship to be held on June 12th – 14th, 2017 in Niagara Falls. The students competed in a qualifying soccer tournament back in February where based on the results from that tournament the team was selected from over 100 other Ontario Soccer teams to complete against 12 teams at the Provincials.

We are so proud of our athletes for the dedication and hard work they have put in to training for this upcoming championship. The two-day tournament hosts over 800 athletes, coaches and staff from across Ontario competing in basketball, bocce, soccer, track & field and floor hockey.

We hope our athletes enjoy this wonderful opportunity in Niagara Falls and come away from the tournament with new friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

Shannon Delyea and Emma Fuller travelled to Toronto on May 1st to compete in the Provincial Skills Competition as members of Team Limestone.  Delyea competed in the Photography contest, where she presented one printed photograph, a digital portfolio of twenty photographs, and photographed and edited twenty polished images of all of the competitions happening at the Toronto Congress Centre.  “It was a great experience and I recommend the Skills Competition to everyone.  It was an excellent challenge,” Delyea said.

Emma Fuller competed in the Graphic Design Studio Production event, for a second year, where she designed a menu, a logo and a triangular shaped box using Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator the day of the competition.  “The Ontario Skills Competition has been a great learning experience and it has taught me a lot of valuable skills.  I recommend that students give this competition a try!” said Fuller.

Congratulations to these talented students!

The Central Frontenac Minor Softball Association kicked off the 2017 season Saturday in Mountain Grove with its registration session.

Association president Kurtis Jackson said the on-field season will get underway in mid-May, depending on field conditions and the weather and continue into mid-August (the bantam and junior men’s teams schedule go a little longer).

They’ll be fielding six mixed teams and one girls bantam team this year with seven home games and six away games. Home games are played in Sharbot Lake, Parham and Mountain Grove. Away games can be as far away as Lansdowne and Gananoque.

“We’re affiliated with the Kingston Area Inter-Community Softball Association,” Jackson said. “All of the teams except Grasshoppers play away games.”

They have the players all lined up but they could still use some coaches and even more important — umpires. There is a training session scheduled for April 22 and if you’re interested, call Annette Grey-Jackson at 613-449-0060 for details.

The Association is also planning a volleyball tournament fundraiser for April 8 at GREC. Call Christine Teal at 613- 375-6525 for more on that and/or visit the Association’s Facebook page.

This year’s executive is Kurtis Jackson, president, Ryan Beattie, vice-president, Leanne Cowdy, secretary, Christine Teal, treasurer and Annette Grey-Jackson, equipment/umpires.

Area reps are Marcie Asselstine, Sharbot Lake, Owen Tryon, Parham and Jamie Riddell, Mountain Grove.

Godfrey native Matt Villalta was named Vaughn OHL goaltender of the Month and OHL Rookie of the Month following a stellar May with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds with a 1.34 goals-against average, a .957 save percentage and a 5-1-0-0 record including one shutout. (The Greyhounds are currently up 2-1 in their best-of-seven first round playoffs series against the Flint Firebirds.)

He finished his rookie season with a 25-3-0-0 record to go along with a 2.41 gaa and a .918 save percentage. He’s the OHL’s first 17-year-old rookie to win 25 games in a season since 2006-2007 and the 2.41 gaa sets a new Greyhounds record.

Of course dad Lawrence is very proud of his son’s accomplishments but he says “we’re a quiet family” and knows it’s a long haul.

“Matt just needs to stay focused and committed to continue on,” he said. “There is a lot of talent (in the OHL) and as a rookie, he’s still a work in progress.”

But actually, Matt isn’t the only Villalta playing junior hockey in the Soo. Matt’s twin brother Wyatt is a defenceman for NOJHL (Junior A) Soo Thunderbirds and to have both sons playing in the same city is a huge plus for the family, Lawrence said.

“They both have great coaches and great billets,” he said. “This is an especially big thing for our family.

“We just feel blessed that the boys can share this experience together.

“We sent them nine hours away but we sent them to a good place.”

Although Lawrence played a lot of sports himself, hockey wasn’t his top game, but that’s OK, the boys like it and he’s there to support them wherever he can.

And, he’s done his best to teach the boys there is more to athletics than statistics and such.

“I told Wyatt ‘you’re only going to be this age once – you gotta have fun.

“‘Enjoy it while it lasts.’”

He said he’s become quite impressed with The Soo as “a great hockey community” but stresses this advice for young hockey players “character in a hockey player is just about everything.”

It went like this: Game 1, 6-3 Flyers win at Frontenac Arena; Game 2, 7-1 Flyers win at Wasaga Beach Stars; Game 3, 9-0 Flyers win at Wasaga Beach.

And just like that, the Novice Flyers rep team is the top dog in the OMHA Novice East CC-C loop this season.

Before the team bus left for Wasaga Beach last Friday, South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal, himself a veteran of many, many hockey campaigns, came on board to give the guys a pep talk. Next, there was a an inspirational video from Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, who grew up in the Frontenac Minor Hockey system.

“He (Smith) told the team ‘just enjoy it,’” Flyers Head Coach Jamie Craig said. “This is a big deal for 7 and 8 year olds.

“You could go through your whole life and not do it again.”

The final was a “great game,” Craig said.

Drake Thomas with four goals, Kayson Antoine with three goals and an assist, Rhett Coulson with a goal and two assists and Jack Craig with three assists paced the Flyers’ attack.

But once again, goalie Hayden Consack stood out, notching the shutout.

“We kind of built from last year (when the Flyers reached the final but fell 3 games to 0 to the Sturgeon Lake Thunder),” Craig said. “It’s been great and they (the team) handled it very well.

“But we also had great support from the parents and without that, we couldn’t do it.”

Next season, Craig and most of his team will be moving up to Atom, leaving only four members of this team in Novice.

“It’s not just about one team,” Craig said. “It’s about the organization.”

But for this season, this championship, it’s about this bunch.

“I think it’s just starting to sink in,” Craig said.