Soon after wrapping up the season with the Southeast Midget AAA Twins, Blaine Kovach was standing behind third base as coach for Team Saskatchewan at the Baseball Canada Cup in Moncton, New Bruinswick.

They went 3-4 in the tournament to finish 5th overall.

"I had a great time, a great experience. The kids were awesome, they gelled really well together. After playing against them all season long, it's finally nice to enjoy them playing as one team. We saw some really good baseball, we played pretty well, it was just a great time."

It wasn't his first time at the championships, as he'd participated as a player years ago, but he got to experience it from a completely different perspective.

"It's a whole new experience, being a coach."

"It's a whole new experience, being a coach. From when I played, till now, it definitely is fast. I think there's better ball players out there now. Pitching was excellent this weekend, from other teams and even from ours. We scrapped and we battled, and I think we did just fine."

Kovach (right) with Kevin Culy, also from the southeast, there in an officiating role.

Saskatchewan played Quebec the most of anyone in the tournament, and went for one win and two losses against them, including in the final placement game on Sunday.

"From my perspective, that was almost like a rivalry game. It was really cool...they're loud, and we're loud, both fans are loud and it's pretty intense playing games against those guys. I definitely got some grey hairs from coaching those kinds of games, for sure."

A damper fell on some of the activities midway through the tournament, as a shooter lit out on a spree that left four individuals deceased in nearby Fredricton, NB. Kovach noted that it was sobering to be near the event.

"We were on the bus back from one of our games when it took place. It definitely affected the entire province, you could tell. Everything had flags at half-mast, there was a lot of talks amongst the groups, and of course for every single game after that it was a moment of silence, everyone respected that and took it very seriously."

"It's a pretty scary thought, knowing that that happened so close to where we were," he added.

Kovach has a few weeks to rest and relax, before getting Estevan Minor Baseball's Fall Ball program underway. He hopes to reapply for next year's Canada Cup as well.