Anthony McKinley says he knows how teens can stay out of trouble.
"I believe in playing sports, respecting your family and helping out in the community," said the 16-year-old Dartmouth resident. "At least that is what has worked for me."
His beliefs have worked so well for him that he was recruited to attend one of Canada's top prep schools for baseball, Alberta's Vauxhall Academy of Baseball. He starts at the school this week.
McKinley has played baseball since he was five years old and says his love for the sport began when he was tagging along to the field with his older brother Aaron.
"Ever since then I knew baseball was what I wanted to do," he said. "I just continued to work hard and learn everything I could."
After that came a few years playing for the Westphal Port Wallis Baseball Association and then on to the Dartmouth Mariners.
But the big break for McKinley came when he was chosen to play for the Nova Scotia Selects for the past two years.
This team boasts the top players under 17 in the province. Every year this group of 20 or so young men work on skill building and play in exhibition games. It was while representing Nova Scotia at the Canada Cup in Saskatchewan that the Dartmouth teen was first noted for his fast arm - McKinley says his pitches are routinely clocked at 85 miles per hour, his reliability and maturity.
"The phone started ringing off the hook when he came back from Saskatchewan," said his mother Dawn. "The recruiters were all trying to get him to choose their school. But in the end Anthony chose Vauxhall."
He will complete Grades 11 and 12 at the Alberta school known for its academics as well as turning out division one athletes.
"Of the 35 graduates from Vauxhall over the past couple of years, all of them have advanced to another level in their baseball careers," said Dawn.
McKinley knows he has to work hard to get to the pros, but he says he is willing to do whatever it takes.
"A lot of people in Dartmouth just hang around and do nothing, but that is not me," he said. "I am looking forward to improving my baseball skills at Vauxhall, getting to learn and becoming a better person. I know I can do it."
This summer he was also invited by USA Baseball and MLB to the Breakthrough Series camp in North Carolina. McKinley was one of only two Canadians at the camp.One of the coaches there had a World Series Ring and he said it was awesome to not only get to see the ring but be involved with players and coaches who think like he does.
In October McKinley will be going to Florida to try out for Team Canada.
"If I make it to Team Canada I will be playing on the Canadian team that goes to Seoul for the Junior Baseball World Championships," he said.
All this attention has been a bit overwhelming for the teen who was also named Rookie of the Year for Metro High School Basketball and a member of the all star team.
His Mom says there a lot of people to thank.
"There have been times where my family and friends and coaches have had to step in and help," she said. "We absolutely could not have made it without them."
It is a long way from Big Beazley field to a division one American College, but McKinley says he wants to attend a Powerhouse college after high school.
"And if I make it big I am going to come back to Dartmouth and build a baseball stadium," he said. "I would tell any kid to try to take advantage of opportunities to get ahead. And there are people out there who do care, I can tell you that."
joanneoostveen@accesswave.ca
