High quality people and baseball made for an enjoyable experience for Pipestone’s John Patmore at the Canada Summer Games.
The son of Robin and Linda Patmore served as an assistant coach for Team Manitoba at the Niagara, Ont. event. The squad placed seventh at the prestigious multi-sport competition.
“The group of guys we took were phenomenal people as well as ball players,” Patmore said. “My favourite part was how they represented the province proudly, even going so far as to go watch our bat boy play a game with his local team on our day off.”
The calibre of play at the Summer Games was high.
“Mistakes are few and far between at this level and you need to play every game near perfect to stand a chance at winning,” Patmore said.
Team Manitoba went 4-2 at the Summer Games. It romped past New Brunswick, 10-2, in the seventh-place contest. Patmore noted that placing seventh was below the team’s expectations. Previously it had lost in the semifinals of the 96-team Gopher Tournament in Minnesota. This was Manitoba’s highest placing ever in that event. Team Manitoba’s summer record was 14-6.
On a coaching staff that Patmore noted worked well together, he oversaw the team’s offence in both its approach and situationally as well as working with the squad’s catchers. Patmore brought a unique perspective to Team Manitoba as he helped the squad claim the silver medals at the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg.
“His experience coming off such a successful Summer Games as a player just a few years ago was a huge insight for us,” head coach Cody Benson said. “Being able to bounce questions off of him on what they did and how Faron (Asham, head coach at the time) ran that team, it was really helpful.”
Benson praised Patmore’s baseball knowledge and calm demeanour. The head coach also said, “John’s also a big team guy, so he’s really good at making sure we do things to make sure everyone is getting along … He has the personality to bring coaches and players together as a team and he did just that.”
As part of those team-oriented efforts, Patmore purchased a moose statue. “Zeus the Moose” was presented as a player of the game award, and it ended up serving as the team’s mascot. Benson said it was “something to all centre around as a team.”
At the Summer Games, Patmore was impressed with the facilities. When not playing, the team had an opportunity to take in other sports, including beach volleyball, rugby, lacrosse, and basketball. They also went to Niagara Falls and, for one of the coaching staff’s son’s birthday, took the Maid of the Mist boat ride.
