Since becoming the Head Coach of the Southeast Twins, Blaine Kovach has constantly made an effort to become a better instructor and mentor to young baseball players in southeast Saskatchewan.

Beyond his role with the Southeast Twins, Blaine also devotes his time to the Estevan Minor Baseball program in his position as the High Performance Director. Most recently, Kovach was chosen to help coach the Under-17 Baseball Saskatchewan program that traveled to Arizona in late October.

"We we're in Arizona to wind down the season with one last tournament on the year," explained Kovach. "We ended up going 2-2 at this fall classic and we played pretty good, the kids had a great time but how could you not have a great time with the weather we had."

"It's just a way for Baseball Saskatchewan to evaluate these players as potential Canada Cup players. The boys got to see a lot of good ball players from North Dakota, Arizona, Wyoming, California and Colorado just to name a few."

Players from the southern United States may hold a slight advantage with the ability to play during the winter time, but the boys from Saskatchewan we're able to show that they belong.

"Very comparable to what people would see in our league. All around the american teams have an advantage with being able to play year round, but us going down there shows the kids that they're on the same level or can be better than them. It really gives them a boost that way."

The Twins Head Coach also continues to set the bar high for himself, as he looks to reach new goals while putting his passion of coaching baseball to work.

"It was a great opportunity for me because I'm trying to make the Canada Cup team as a coach, it was a way for me to get out there and show off my skills. I got shoved on third base this weekend and I was pretty nervous even though I do it all year round, but it was a bit of a different stage so hopefully that works out. I've always wanted to be a coach on the Canada Cup team with Team Sask to participate in the National event of the Baseball Canada Cup. With the work I've been doing I hope the dream will come true. Not only is that getting into the Sask program a bit more but I bring back the knowledge that I've gained from all that and help the Southeast Twins organization and just the south east in general.

"I got to hang out and coach with the high performance director of Baseball Saskatchewan who happened to be my Sask coach when I was their age. I learned a lot during the days we were there and hopefully that helps me elevate my game with what I learn and how I approach things differently with that program."

Also chosen from the Southeast Twins was outfielder and Kenosee resident, Jose Reyes.

"It's a big boost for our program when you have players like Jose making these kinds of teams and especially if you have a coach. More people are going to funnel towards that which is really cool. To make that Canada Cup squad I've got quite a few courses I have to get done over the winter to get that National certification process over with but I'm getting close and I'm almost there," Kovach concluded.