For Bowen Island youth, playing baseball means commuting to Vancouver for games as well as practices. The schedule can be demanding but Fraser Durrant says that the season has been a lot of fun for the players as well as the coaches.
Durrant started coaching baseball on the North Shore 13 years ago, at the time his sons started playing the game. And he plans to continue until his younger son is finished in two years.
"I've sometimes been head coach and sometimes assistant coach," he said. "It's been a great way to spend time with my kids and their friends."
This year, the Bowen portion of the team was made up of Douglas and Jesse Durrant, Jack DeSante, Alex Lipsey-Ouimet, Malcolm McEachern and Will Evans, with Kim DeSante coaching.
"They've all played together on the same team with Cypress Park Little League since they started T-Ball at age six," Durrant says.
Cypress Park Little league (CPLL) covers the western portion of West Vancouver, plus Bowen Island and Lions Bay. The league is open to boys and girls aged five to 18.
Teams are usually formed after spring break and the season ends by Father's Day. The league is able to keep its fees reasonable by relying on volunteers to fulfill roles such as coaching and managing and Bowen Island is looking back on a long and successful history with Cypress Park Little League.
This year, the team did well, Durrant says, adding that the CPLL Bigs Division won the District 5 North Shore Tournament and made it to the finals at the provincials.
Most of the Bowen players will return to the team next year. Countless local kids have played for CPLL, often for five years or more and Durrant says that a few have joined the Bowen Island men's teams after that.
"These kids are seriously good at baseball and some of them move on to play in competitive leagues," Durrant adds.
For more information, see cypressparkll.org.
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