Thibeau, a 14-year-old bantam baseball player in the Corner Brook minor system, was added to the roster for the Corner Brook Barons AAA team for the Mary Tavenor Memorial baseball team because there wasn’t enough players to form a AA team.
The Barons, thanks to a walkoff homer from Jay Miller in the bottom of the seventh inning, defeated the St. John’s AA Capitals 4-3 in the championship final at Jubilee Field.
Thibeau was invited to join the team by coach Cory Lockyer and played just two innings in the outfield, which was just fine with him because he was told from the get-go that he wouldn’t see much time on the field.
He was a positive influence on his teammates, offering encouraging words and breaking out some of his dance moves in the dugout to keep spirits high and do his part to make sure everybody had fun.
He won the sportsmanship award for his team so it’s safe to say his spirit and enthusiasm was appreciated by his teammates and coaches.
“I broke out the dance moves,” Thibeau said. “All sorts of dances down in the dugout getting all the guys pumped up.”
It was a fun weekend for him. He got to meet some of the guys he never met on the field before because he hasn’t played baseball as long as some of them and he enjoyed being around players and coaches who could offer him insight or tips into how to be a better player and how to improve on a specific skill.
“I love being in that environment where everybody was there to play a game of baseball and everybody who was there really loved it, and I wanted make sure that everybody was at the top of their game feeling like we could win a championship which we did,” he said.
Coach Lockyer had no problem presenting the team’s sportsmanship award to Thibeau because he could see clearly that his upbeat mood and unwavering support of the guys was welcomed.
Ryan O’Gorman was one of the Barons who felt Thibeau was deserving of the recognition. He appreciated how Thibeau was able to offer encouragement to everybody knowing full well that he wasn’t going to see much of the field.
“It was good for him to get it because he was encouraging everybody and cheering everybody on all weekend,” O’Gorman said.
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