AKBA set to host 10U baseball tournament this weekend

Supported by Sport Aurora's Concierge Program, the Aurora-King Baseball Association is set to host another incredible tournament this upcoming weekend.

A total of 16 teams in the 10U division are set to take part in a thrilling competition.

Locally, AKBA will feature their 10U AA team and 10U A team.

“We play in the YSBA, the York-Simcoe Baseball Association, which is an 18-team league. Pretty much all the teams from this league are playing in this tournament. It looks to be pretty competitive – there's a lot of good teams in this one. More so than the other two tournaments we've played in this year,” said Kevin Charbonneau, Head Coach of the AA team and tournament director.

Just like the 9U tournament held a few weeks back, the Aurora Optimist Club will return to serve food over the course of the weekend. Charbonneau said there should also be an ice cream truck available.

The two differences between the 9U tournament and this upcoming competition is the fact there will not be a consolation round and at 1.45 p.m. on Saturday, Charbonneau plans to host a coaches-only home-run derby.

If all goes well with the ice cream truck, the coach who hits the most home runs will win free ice cream for their respective team.

The tournament will take place at Optimist Park and Lambert Willson Park.

As Aurora continues to make its case very clear that this is a sports town, sports tournaments with teams travelling outside of Town showcases everything Aurora has to offer.  

With AKBA having a deal with Microtel, incoming teams will have a place to stay with their families.

And this, of course, still won't be the end. Sport Aurora will continue to work with local teams to make this happen. There will be plenty of volunteer opportunities as well for high school students in need of completing their community service hours.

The 9U tournament, hosted by Joel Malley, received excellent reviews. Charbonneau is hoping this 10U tournament will be successful as well.

“We've done pretty well. We won the first tournament that we played in. We made the finals in the second. We've surprised a few teams I think this year. We've come a long way in a year,” Charbonneau said.

Charbonneau's Aurora-King Jays AA will take on the Whitby Canadians at Lambert Wilson #2 at 4.00 p.m. Friday.

The Aurora King Jays A, will be taking on the Orangeville Bengals at 6.45 p.m. at Lambert Wilson #2 that evening.

By Robert Belardi