CORNER BROOK Myles Vincent knows people have high expectations of him since he earned a spot on Team Canada, but he’s not going to put any pressure on himself
“I know I’m in the spotlight and a lot of people have big expectations, but I’m just trying to take it all in and play as well as I can and have as much fun as I can,” Vincent told The Western Star via Facebook from Seoul, South Korea.
Vincent, an 18-year-old southpaw pitcher who has been a dominant force in provincial baseball circles, is a member of Canada’s National Junior Baseball Team competing at the IBAF 18U World Baseball Championships in Seoul this week. He has been the talk of Corner Brook since it was announced last week he had earned a spot on the team.
He is just taking it all in stride at this point in his amateur baseball career
“I don’t think I’m something special on the diamond. I’m just another guy who wants to win ball games,” he said.
It appears Team Canada sees something special in the hard-throwing lefty who has developed a nasty curveball over the past year. He spent the past winter playing at the Prairie Baseball Academy and it gave him an edge when he returned to the province to excel at all levels of baseball this past summer.
He is expected to see mound duty as a reliever out of the bullpen. Team Canada head coach Greg Hamilton and his staff have provided him with positive feedback since his whirlwind journey began.
“The feedback from the coaches is that I have a good breaking ball and I need to use it,” he said.
Vincent has spent a lot of the year travelling to various baseball tournaments.
He struggled with the decision to stay at the Prairie Baseball Academy when he first made the trek out west. He thought about coming home because he missed his family and friends, but he stuck it out and is now reaping the benefits.
“It’s definitely been a lot easier getting through things when I know there are people rooting for me back home,” he said. “The support from family and friends has been great.”He is slowly adjusting to being away from his support system.“Although I miss them a lot, it’s something I have to deal with,” he said.
For those who wish to follow the National Junior Team there is a live game feed (play by play) set up at http://bit.ly/FollowMyles. The play-by-play link is in the rightmost column of the table.
