Legionnaire Dynasty

The Legionnaires “L” has always been a staple in the Listowel community during the summer months for as far back as anyone can remember. This includes the 90’s when coach Kyle was a little blonde-haired boy attempting to throw the ball across the diamond. When it comes to on the diamond, Listowel Minor Baseball has always been a strong anchor within Western Ontario and at times been a benchmark for other nearby centers. Coach Hollinger still remembers his first year coaching as a 19-year-old teen when the registration numbers for 11U (Mosquito) were barely enough to field two teams. Jump forward to the mid-2010’s when the 11U registration sky-rocketed to 50+ keen young ball players, thanks to the Jays success. Ever since then, Listowel has been on a “dynasty-esh” run.

Over the past seven seasons, exempting the COVID year, the Listowel 11U OBA Program has put some pretty incredible teams on the field. Collectively they have gone 224-62-3, which results in a 78% win percentage. This includes going to the Provincial “C” Finals in five of those seasons and winning four of the five times (2017, 2019, 2022, 2023). Three of these years, the championship came without losing a game at the Provincial Tournament, and two of these championships came by way of mercy. Also worth noting includes the Legionnaires success in the ICBA. During these years, Listowel has also won two ICBA Tier 2 Championships, which is against “A” centers from the Tri-City area. Needless to say, these past seven years a lot of hardware has been brought back to Perth County and the Listowel “L” has been represented proudly.

In the end, I think it is safe to say that Listowel Minor Ball has generated or carried a level of excellence during the past decade within its 11U program, but as of recently this standard has been incredible, successful, and maintained. Not that winning is everything, but the dedication and joy these players have played with over the years and continued to come back speaks for itself. A huge shout out to all the players, coaches, and parents who have dedicated their summer months to evenings at the ball diamond and to all the endless hours put in at home playing catch, swinging a bat, and learning to pitch.

Enjoy the off-season as we look forward to seeing everyone next summer wearing the “L” proudly… and who knows maybe we can three-peat for the first time.