The Parksville Royals will have four teams for the 2021 baseball season.
The Royals will have a senior, a junior and two bantam teams in the spring.
The Royals general manager Mike Parlow said approximately 60 players are trying out for the spring teams.
The tryouts are being held indoors at Arbutus Meadows in Nanoose Bay and will continue outdoors in March at the Springwood Park diamond in Parksville. They are training under Phase 2 of the Return to Play Guidelines as outlined in both the viaSport and Baseball BC guidelines.
Parlow said the sessions are divided between players in Grades 10-12 trying out for the senior and junior teams and Grades 8-9 vying for a spot in the two bantam teams. Each group has been working out twice per week.
There are only two-to-four spots available on the senior team that hopes to see the BC Premier Baseball League be allowed to play this coming season, after last year’s season cancellation due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: Parksville pitcher McGorman makes Canadian Baseball Network draft list
The Royals will announce the final rosters for each team in late March. However, the junior and bantam rosters will require more time as coaches will decide on the best fit for the organization and each player’s individual development path.
The first game of the season is scheduled for April 11 at Springwood Park.
The Royals have been proud of a program that has helped players advance to higher levels. In 2019, seven of eight graduating students went on to realize their dream of playing college baseball.
Recently, Anson McGorman, who is enrolled in the Vauxhall Academy Jets, was signed by Sacramento State and will play in the NCAA Division 1 baseball.
He is ranked 13th in the Canadian Baseball Network 2021 draft list.
Over the course of the team’s history, 88 players have used the Royals as a stepping store to college and professional baseball.
Meanwhile Oceanside Minor Baseball is still waiting for developments on what the coming spring season will be like.
Registrations are ongoing, but things will be slightly different this year. The OMB is asking all who are interested to play this spring to register but payments will not be collected at this time until the health authority allows them to play.
The OMB said this will allow co-ordinators to develop a plan for teams, coaches and volunteers.
To register, you can go online at www.oceansidebaseball.ca.