From the first day he could hold a ball and a glove, Cole MacLaren of Morell dreamed of playing baseball.
Every day, he'd have his father, Kevin, outside hitting pop-ups and grounders to him.
It didn't matter what the weather was like. Even when he played hockey as a youngster, he couldn't go a day without taking a few swings - or missing a ball practice.
"Right from the beginning, he loved baseball,'' Kevin MacLaren said of his 17-year-old son. "Every night, we'd be out and he'd make me hit pop-ups and grounders to him.''
All that practice has paid off. Cole MacLaren will realize his dream of playing college baseball in the United States later this year. He just signed a letter of intent and has accepted an athletic scholarship to play for the NJCAA Division 1 Colby Community College Trojons in Kansas, Miss.
"None of this would be possible without my father,'' Cole MacLaren told The Guardian in a telephone interview from Alberta where he's attending high school while catching for the Okotoks JDawgs Baseball Academy's midget black team. "He's always had my back wherever I went. He showed me the ropes and guiding me at a young age.''
MacLaren has been with the Dawgs the past two years. The team just returned from Las Vegas where they won the Dessert Classic Baseball Tournament playing against some of the top high school teams in the U.S. The Dawgs won the championship game 18-8. MacLaren was one of three Dawgs to have three hits in the game.
He was also part of P.E.I.'s baseball team at the 2013 Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Que.
MacLaren also drew interest from colleges in Arizona, Iowa and North Dakota but chose Kansas because it had the best package of a quality education and a winning team.
"I want to get a good education and get a degree. If baseball doesn't work out I want to be as well-rounded an individual as possible,'' MacLaren said, adding that he'd rather blend in with a winning team than stand out on a bad squad.
Before heading out west, MacLaren spent a year training with the Eastern Baseball Academy in Stratford. That's where Dawgs head coach A.J. Fystro, who was here recruiting, noticed the young Morell native.
In information supplied to The Guardian, Fystro describes MacLaren as an agile young man who embodies everything a good catcher needs - a strong arm, quick feet and a good frame.
MacLaren said a lot of that credit goes to Jason Monaghan, Andrew McNeiven, Andrew MacDonald and all the other EBA coaching staff.
MacLaren graduates Grade 12 in June and then plans on returning to P.E.I. for six weeks this summer before leaving for Kansas on Aug. 17. He'll suit up for the Morell Chevies of the Kings County Baseball League while he's home where he'll be reunited with his Canada Games coach and Chevy veteran Desi Doyle.
MacLaren is grateful for all the opportunities he's getting and looking forward to the challenge of college ball in the U.S.
From the first day he could hold a ball and a glove, Cole MacLaren of Morell dreamed of playing baseball.
Every day, he'd have his father, Kevin, outside hitting pop-ups and grounders to him.
It didn't matter what the weather was like. Even when he played hockey as a youngster, he couldn't go a day without taking a few swings - or missing a ball practice.
"Right from the beginning, he loved baseball,'' Kevin MacLaren said of his 17-year-old son. "Every night, we'd be out and he'd make me hit pop-ups and grounders to him.''
All that practice has paid off. Cole MacLaren will realize his dream of playing college baseball in the United States later this year. He just signed a letter of intent and has accepted an athletic scholarship to play for the NJCAA Division 1 Colby Community College Trojons in Kansas, Miss.
"None of this would be possible without my father,'' Cole MacLaren told The Guardian in a telephone interview from Alberta where he's attending high school while catching for the Okotoks JDawgs Baseball Academy's midget black team. "He's always had my back wherever I went. He showed me the ropes and guiding me at a young age.''
MacLaren has been with the Dawgs the past two years. The team just returned from Las Vegas where they won the Dessert Classic Baseball Tournament playing against some of the top high school teams in the U.S. The Dawgs won the championship game 18-8. MacLaren was one of three Dawgs to have three hits in the game.
He was also part of P.E.I.'s baseball team at the 2013 Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Que.
MacLaren also drew interest from colleges in Arizona, Iowa and North Dakota but chose Kansas because it had the best package of a quality education and a winning team.
"I want to get a good education and get a degree. If baseball doesn't work out I want to be as well-rounded an individual as possible,'' MacLaren said, adding that he'd rather blend in with a winning team than stand out on a bad squad.
Before heading out west, MacLaren spent a year training with the Eastern Baseball Academy in Stratford. That's where Dawgs head coach A.J. Fystro, who was here recruiting, noticed the young Morell native.
In information supplied to The Guardian, Fystro describes MacLaren as an agile young man who embodies everything a good catcher needs - a strong arm, quick feet and a good frame.
MacLaren said a lot of that credit goes to Jason Monaghan, Andrew McNeiven, Andrew MacDonald and all the other EBA coaching staff.
MacLaren graduates Grade 12 in June and then plans on returning to P.E.I. for six weeks this summer before leaving for Kansas on Aug. 17. He'll suit up for the Morell Chevies of the Kings County Baseball League while he's home where he'll be reunited with his Canada Games coach and Chevy veteran Desi Doyle.
MacLaren is grateful for all the opportunities he's getting and looking forward to the challenge of college ball in the U.S.
