Summer is a great chance to go out and see some athletes who may be coming up through the ranks and will impact area sports in the future.
That's what I have been doing the past couple of days as the Junior League and Little League All-Star tournaments begin to wind down and District championships are played.
I have to say I was pretty impressed with the Killingly-Brooklyn Little League Softball 11-12 year-old All-Stars especially with their size and their defense.
Killingly-Brooklyn, which just merged this season, has some very athletic players on their team including third baseman Taylor Malstrom and catcher Julia Oleksy. Malstrom was three for four in Killingly-Brooklyn's 9-3 win over Sprague-Franklin-Canterbury/Columbia to win the District 11 championship on Monday afternoon.Oleksy was two for three with a triple and two runs batted in.
"She can bomb it," Killingly-Brooklyn manager Mike Hill said. "We have a bunch of kids who can bomb it, there's no question about it. But once you see (pitchers) who have their skills honed and can just bring it, we'll have to see."
One thing Hill shouldn't have to worry about is his defense. Killingly-Brooklyn cut down runners at third and at home on Monday.
"We practice hard, we work hard, we make plays and it pumps everyone up," Oleksy said of the defensive effort.
One can only hope this will say good things for both Killingly High School and Woodstock Academy in the future.