By Chad Klassen

Riverdogs struggle in first half, remain positive

Jun 23, 2016 | 4:07 PM

KAMLOOPS — At 7-17, the Kamloops Riverdogs have some work ahead of them to turn their season around. 

But it’s a position they braced for at the beginning of the year with a youthful line-up. 

“We knew we were in tough with seven Grade 10s coming into this season,” says manager Sean Wandler. “We knew there would be a lot of development, but the guys have been competing. The guys have been improving each week, so I’m happy with the group we have. I’m happy with the attitude, I’m happy with the fact they buy into the culture of the program and they want to get better.”

For rookies like Grayden Baker, who’s been one of the standouts for Wandler’s squad, has enjoyed playing against stiffer competition, but also finding his way in a new league. 

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“Probably the field size,” says Baker on the biggest adjustment from Bantam to Midget. “I’m not exactly a very big guy. In some ways, I can use it to my advantage, maybe get the speed going when I hit a ball in the gap. Certainly not hitting any home runs this year.” 

Vincent Daley, in his senior season, remember what it was like making the jump. He knows what these Grade 10s are going through. 

“The big thing is, most of all, it’s a bigger field, longer throws,” he says. “You have less margin for error running to bags because they have that much more time to get you out. You just need to adjust to that.”

Baker says Wandler has helped in his development, and the development of the entire team through some tough times this season. 

“It’s definitely a work in progress, but we’re adapting really well as a team,” says Baker. “I know in previous years, with the mindset we might have had as a team, it would really crush us. But coach has done a really great job instilling a new mindset with us. It’s allowed us to get better, even through the ups and downs.”

The ups and downs of this season, sitting second to last in the standings in the 8-team league, are expected for a program that’s in a rebuilding year. 

It’s a younger team that may need a season to adjust to midget baseball. 

“You always have to build for the future, and that’s always been the philosophy of our program,” says Wandler. “So we give the guys the time they need and we work on their development. We go through these cycles, for the last 17 seasons we have. We go through these ups and downs, but if we have that core group that sticks with it, we generally have success.”