Since relocating from Cookstown many years ago, the Innisfil Minor Baseball Association (IMBA) has had its ups and downs.

    A few years ago, the number of players had fallen off but with registration doubling this year, they’re seeing a resurgence.

    Part of that resurgence has come from players returning from other leagues where they had been forced to play since Innisfil didn’t have the numbers to field a team in their division.
    

“We’ve been sending kids to other leagues,” said IMBA Bantam coach Brad Dunsmoor, “Once they’re there they don’t want to come back.”
  

After a few phone calls by Dunsmoor this year, and adjustments that involved moving two players up from Peewee, getting a couple of players from Barrie and two senior players who returned after not playing last year, he managed to put together a Bantam team.
           

“We’ve never had a (Bantam) league in Innisfil before,” he said. “They’re a good bunch of kids.”
           

They’re more than a good bunch of kids. With a significant pool of talent in the area, as of July 6 the team was ranked fourth out of sixteen teams in the South Simcoe Minor Baseball league despite having been thrown together at the last minute.
           

“We’ve always had good teams,” said Dunsmoor. “But never necessarily had the facilities.”
           

He credits the team’s success to solid fundamentals. Many of the players have played before and have skills that complement each other.

The team’s biggest competition this year comes from Stayner, Midland and Mansfield, who are all ranked ahead of Innisfil.
           

They played recently at Innisfil Beach Park and while the field was a tad small, they made the best of it.
           

“It’s a little shallow. In Midget next year we’ll need the full field,” he said, adding that they’re waiting patiently for the new fields at the new recreation complex in Barclay.  
           

The IMBA doesn’t have a Midget team this year but Dunsmoor, who also coaches T-ball, is already planning for one next year.
           

“We’re looking to find people (players) who can do it,” he said.
           

Andrew Fletcher, who is a former VP for the IMBA and whose son umpired the Cardinals most recent game, said he’s happy to see the game returning to Innisfil.
           

“There were a few hard core people who didn’t give up on it,” he said. “There are kids (in Innisfil) that want to play baseball.”