Every athlete has a story and Darren Doucette is proud of his.
“I left here in ’92 and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals,” says Doucette.
Doucette learned early in life he could hit a baseball long distances and from the fields of Dartmouth, he chased his professional baseball dream for seven years.
"Pay cheques weren't very big, but getting paid to do something you love is always great," says Doucette.
When the dream died, he returned home and signed with the Dartmouth Dry Senior Baseball Team. He now takes pride in his ability to coach.
“It’s a great feeling,” says Doucette.
These days, Doucette is coaching the children of Jays Care.
“It's a foundation that was started by the Toronto Blue Jays a number of years ago," says Doucette.
The Jays Care Foundation runs winter baseball development programs in several cities across the country.
The age range of the players runs from four to six years old. Some are being introduced to a game they otherwise couldn’t afford to play.
"Especially in this area of Dartmouth, there's a lot of good young athletes that never get into sport at all. We're at least happy to present them with a glove and bat," says Doucette. "I grew up in this area. I saw some great athletes that I grew up with that never had a chance to play.”
If all goes as planned, the players will fall in love with baseball the way Doucette did when he was a boy. It is also a chance to further grow the game, in what is already a thriving baseball community.
"It just sort of makes me feel happy because more people could enjoy the game of baseball," says camp player Ty Doucette.
The kids are learning baseball basics.
“He makes us do throwing practices and makes us run around the whole rectangle,” says camp player Ayres Perry.
Learning the fundamentals of a game, that is being made more accessible thanks to a big league team, with a coast to coast community minded approach.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Paul Hollingsworth
