Rain, Rain Go Away

Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on the 2011 baseball season and, also, on my ability to post interesting articles to this blog. We are smack dab in the middle of the third week of May and the London Majors have yet to play anything other than an intrasquad game thus far. Oddly enough, we are the only team who hasn’t played a regular season game in the entire league.

In fact, it probably seems like I’m completely fabricating my place on the team and I’m stringing readers along until I can no longer keep up such an elaborate ruse. However, I am nowhere near clever enough to hatch such a scheme. Therefore, here’s proof that I am actually a member of the London Majors: my website profile.

As I mentioned last week, the season opener was supposed to be on Sunday afternoon, but a torrential downpour that literally did not stop for the better part of three days quickly put an end to that possibility.

It was doubly disappointing that the season did not get underway as I found out that I was scheduled to pitch as the first or second guy out of the bullpen. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to prove myself on an Intercounty League mound, but I suppose I will have to wait until our next scheduled game on Friday. I was pleased that I was entrusted with the chance to throw in the first game of the year even though I am new to the team and league; the belief in my abilities gives me further confidence moving forward.

I suppose since there isn’t much baseball stuff to discuss this week, I can touch on some happenings off the field in order to make this a full-fledged column.

The Major players are taken care of very well here in London. We are housed in spacious, suite-style dorms at the University of Western Ontario, complete with housecleaning service once a week (an absolute must with twenty-something guys living in close quarters). The players are also provided with a complimentary buffet continental breakfast each and every morning. This has been instrumental to someone who eats as much as I do.

(And yes, I have no problem saying that we are incredibly spoiled; the organization treats us very well)

Each member of the team is also provided with a free membership at a Goodlife fitness club for the duration of the summer. I’ve mentioned in this space before that I train at Crossfit Oshawa, a no frills facility in an industrial park that is proud of its hard core look and uncomfortable training atmosphere (no fans or air conditioning). That, and hard work, is the secret to the results achieved there. Blood, sweat and heavy weights are the only options at Crossfit Oshawa.

The gym is not for everyone.

Conversely, Goodlife is a typical big box mainstream health club. That means mirrors galore, a plethora of machines and cardio equipment and the amenities one would expect from such a facility (juice bar, tanning salon, even massage chairs). I showed up on Sunday morning after learning the game was cancelled with my weightlifting shoes, a bag of chalk and a four foot long chain I use for weighted pullups and dips; I was like a fish out of training water.

I wasn’t sure how I would be received; truthfully I had visions of being escorted off the premises by the time I finished my warmup. In reality, I had no issues. I did get a few weird looks from the spinning class and a few pregnant ladies going through some prenatal workouts (I think one woman thought the chain was some Medieval torture device; she gave me a wide berth), but overall I was left alone to do my work.

It would be impossible to follow a Crossfit type strength and conditioning program at such a facility, but the Goodlife gym is perfect for my maintenance program over the summer. I should have zero issues doing what I need to do to stay in the best shape possible throughout the season.