A small-college coach with an Edmonton connection has made it possible for those strong Kansas winds to blow big opportunities toward some Alberta baseball prospects.
The door swung open when Matt Dickson, a former linebacker at Ross Sheppard High School, became head coach at little-known Colby Community College, a member of the state-wide Jayhawk Conference.
"Our conference has 19 teams, and a lot of Division One universities are paying attention," said Dickson, now 29. He spent four days here last week as part of a 6,500-mile highway journey that allowed him to visit his mother and scout players in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
"I loved my time at Ross Shep and at Westminster Junior High," said the traveller. "I played linebacker for two years and was a captain on the defensive team.
"Football is a great sport, but baseball has always meant more to me."
MANY CANADIANS
Admittedly, the presence of so many Canadians - at least one from Saskatchewan and a couple from B.C. in addition to the Alberta group - "turned some heads down here."
The Alberta contingent: twin pitchers Rob and Steve Hogue of Edmonton, pitcher Josh Turner and outfielder-designated hitter Aaron Dunsmore of Spruce Grove, third-baseman Jason Chatwood of Innisfail and outfielder Ron Whitford and catcher Marshall MacDonald of Red Deer.
Steve Hogue, the lefthanded pitching brother, was drafted in 2005 by the Toronto Blue Jays. "He is thinking he'll play some semi-pro ball in St. Albert this year and might sign a pro contract after that," said Dickson. "He isn't in the zone as much as we'd like but he's got some tools - including a fast ball that gets up to 92 miles an hour on the gun.
"He's got a violent pitching motion, too, but he must have something special; otherwise, he wouldn't have been taken in the 18th round."
Family circumstances sent Dickson back to the United States after his brief stay in Edmonton, where he briefly attended the University of Alberta. After playing in the Atlanta area, the young third baseman jumped at the job offer from the school of about 1,500 in a community of about 10,000 near the Colorado-Kansas border.
"I remembered some of these guys from when I was involved in baseball programs at the Kinsmen Centre a couple of years ago."
VAUXHALL PRAISED
He also praised the baseball program at Vauxhall which has rapt approval from current Cracker-Cats assistant coach Gord Gerlach, Canadian baseball Hall-of-Famer Orv Franchuk and others.
"Baseball in Alberta is a lot better than many people realize," Dickson said.
Chatwood's potential gets Dickson raving about what might happen down the road, although lack of height may be a problem.
"We list him as 5-foot-8 on the roster and, well ... he'd like to be that tall. But he's loaded with ability.
"He's more mature now, but when I saw him at 14 or 15, he was turning around fastballs being thrown by men. Not just hitting the ball; I mean really turning it around."
In baseball's pecking order, the next step for these young players is to be noticed, and approached by a Division 1 school.
Pitcher Turner is committed to Western Alabama and Chatwood to Gonzaga.
MacDonald, a three-year all-star behind the plate, is said to be considering several offers.
Dunsmore and others have already drawn attention, too.
"For sure, Aaron has Division 1 potential," said his coach. "He's got some things to learn in the outfield, so we use him some as the DH. He's only 19, a freshman, so we know we're waiting for some maturity. We're confident that he'll keep showing progress."
As long as top Canadian kids keep showing up, Dickson was equally confident his program will keep progressing, too.
