Having three groupings of provincial champions emerge from the same small community in the same year seems like astronomical odds. For the 11U, 13U, and 15U Muenster Red Sox ball teams, it's not a random chance happening. It's a testament to the efforts of the players, the communities from which the players hail, the coaches, and most certainly, the parents.

Each of the three Tier 1 teams captured gold in their respective age groups, and two of the teams are off to the 2019 AA Western Canadian Baseball Championship being held on August 16-18 in Strathmore, AB. The teams head out on August 15 for a tandem weekend of high-calibre baseball. The 11U squad has wrapped up competition as no further play happens at the 11U level.

Head Coaches for the teams Garett Korte (15U) and Marty Yager (13U) have been involved in baseball at a high level since their days in youth ball. Veterans of senior ball and elite competition, both have turned to coaching and sharing their knowledge with the young players of the region. They both have a solid sense of the history of the game in Muenster, and they agree that this year's run for their teams is set to go down as a major part of that history.

Garett Korte puts the accomplishment into perspective, "A few years back, we sent a team to Western Canadians. Coach Chad Hofmann's team went and I thought at the time that it would never happen again. To have it happen again, but to two teams, is really remarkable for a town our size and our small program. It's exciting and we're looking forward to it."

The other even more amazing factor is that the third team, the 11U Red Sox, coached by Derek Rude struck gold as well.

Now the challenge for the two teams is to recapture some of the energy that carried them through the provincial championships. When asked about the regimen for the two weeks between the provincials and westerns, both coaches were satisfied that the teams were prepared.

Korte noted, "For the 15U team, we took a week off after provincials and everybody did their own thing. After that, we started practicing and had some inter-squad games, and we had a doubleheader of exhibition games. We played a triple-A team out of Lloydminster; we split with them so there were two good games there. We kind of knocked the rust off and I think we're ready to go."

The routine was similar for Yager's 13U squad. "It was very similar. Some of our kids went to the lake to unwind. When they came back, it was a similar story. We had some practices and went into Saskatoon to play a fall ball team; we played an 8 or 9 inning game with them, so it was good to see some kids we'd seen in the league and get everybody back into the swing of things."

Seven years ago,  2012 season was a remarkable year for Muenster teams, but Korte reflects that those wins, hard-fought as they were, we not at the Tier 1 level. The performances of the players in their respective age groups were against arguably the best age-grouped players in the province. With the U18 AAA Muenster Red Sox scoring a semi-final victory in provincials as well, both Yager and Korte find it hard to imagine.

Korte admits, "I don't expect we'll have another year like this. I hope we do, but this has been pretty good." Given that the majority of their players will either remain in their age brackets or advance to the next levels, it may not be a stretch to think that such a windfall year could occur again. 

While the cores of the teams are made up of Muenster players, ball enthusiasts from nearby towns gravitate to James Korte Field to join in what's become a baseball dynamo. The 13U team is comprised of players from Lake Lenore, Annaheim, Watson, and Muenster, while the 15U team is made up of players from the same towns plus Drake and Viscount. Because the boys have played in Muenster since the start of their playing days, they are for all intents and purposes Muenster kids. They are not imports; they are long term, die-hard Red Sox.

Playing baseball at this level is an expensive proposition considering all the travel. Once again, it's clear that the communities rally behind their players in supporting the program. In just two weeks, between bottle drives and other fundraising efforts, the two teams generated over $5,000 to offset their expenses. This ensures that no player will be left behind for a want of resources.

Korte and Yager are both quick to attribute the success to parents and other coaches and players. When it comes to the role of the parents, Korte is clear.

"The success of a program is not all on the kids; it's parents. I've said it a million times, our parents support our coaches. Our parents support other parents, and our parents support the kids. Good parents go a long way and we have the best parents."

Yager looks to the players who have gone before as models for the up and coming players. The likes of Brody Frerichs and Logan Hofmann, who have played at college levels, open the doors to what is possible with work and support.

"It's motivation or dreams in their eyes, whatever they want to call it. Our 13U players were pumped going into their provincials after watching the 15U boys being cheered on by 500 people in a provincial final here in Muenster."

In fact, the two agree that the inspiration can be drawn to the program championed by Chad Hofmann, coach of the 18UAAA Muenster Red Sox and architect of some of the winning years that have gone before. It's a team effort, and the team extends to all those in the communities that have influenced and supported this generation of baseball players.

The Western Canadian Championships start Friday, August 16 and head to championship Sunday on August 18 in Strathmore, AB.