The mantra for the Trash Pandas — High Park 8’s T-Ball rep team — in 2025 was simple: Win with class and lose with grace. We had three rules: have fun, always hustle, and be a good teammate. While we didn’t win any championships this year, we grew as players and leaders and were commended for our sportsmanship by opposing team’s parents and coaches. We played with immense heart and passion and came up just shy in each tournament this year.
TEAM: 8’s rep t-ball
RECORD: 15 wins / 8 losses
COACH: Ben Miller
SPONSOR: BMO Insurance
TOURNAMENTS:
Stoney Creek: 2nd overall
Erindale: 2nd overall
Ancaster World T-Ball: Finalists
Dundas: 2nd overall
HIGHLIGHT OF THE SEASON: Winning against Ancaster Diamondbacks 8’s, under the lights, on their home field (The Snake Pit) was one of the highlights of the season. They had beaten us 4 times in a row before this game… in their tournament and in their home field. We lost nail biters in the first two tournaments and made some adjustments in this our 3rd tournament and 5th game against. We made our plays; executed and had fun along the way. After two games earlier in the day and a one hour delay to start our night game, our kids could have been exhausted; but they went out and executed precisely. Mistakes were forgotten like a goldfish and our big 3rd inning where we hit with precision and moved runners up strategically paid off. It was a beautiful moment to be standing on their field, in a dewy twilight, with wide-eyed kiddos ecstatic from their achievements and teamwork. We soaked it in with pride and humility.
SPECIAL MOMENTS: We did a couple fun things this year: We gave the kids different challenges each tournament to win a pack of baseball cards (i.e 38 outs in a game; score 11 and hold them to 0; make a 6-4-3 DP; etc.) And the players celebrated their MVP of the game each game for the player that demonstrated solid offensive and defensive playmaking, hustle, sportsmanship and teamwork. The player that did this won the Trash Panda hat and tail, a highly sought after acknowledgement of performance.
