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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2010 45 Blades deserved better, coach says Oakville Blades coach Jason Nobili will always feel his team deserved better. Despite outshooting their opponents in three of their four games at the RBC Cup in Dauphin, Man., the Blades departed the national junior A hockey championships with a winless record and a last-place finish. The team played its final game of the season Wednesday against the tournament host Dauphin Kings, overcoming 3-0 and 4-1 deficits to tie the game 4-4 in the third period before eventually succumbing 54. Nobili was proud of the effort from his club in a game that came one day after the Blades were eliminaed from playoff round contention at the tournament. "I thought it was a phenomenal effort. It just signifies the character of this team, what we've done all year," said Nobili. "This team worked its tail off right through the end. It held itself with integrity and pride and carried the Oakville Blades name with a lot of respect." Oakville outshot the Kings (who finished the round robin with a 4-0 record) 33-25 Wednesday evening. The Blades also outshot the La Ronge Ice Wolves 45-29 in their opening game (a 3-2 overtime loss) and the Vernon Vipers 26-22 (a 5-3 loss Tuesday that ended the Blades' tournament hopes). The lone game that the Blades appeared overmatched was an 11-2 pounding they took from the Brockville Braves, although Oakville certainly contributed to its own demise by allowing seven powerplay goals and a shorthanded marker. Nobili had to laugh when recounting the breaks that went against his club at the tournament, including a debatable goal against in the game against La Ronge and a fluky bounce off the glass that ended up in the Blades net against Vernon. "You go back and think what if, but that's what it is," he said. "When you're in these tournaments, it's a oneoff game and you don't have a chance to recover (from bad luck) over a series. "But we're not going to cry over spilt milk." The coach said that, losses aside, the team enjoyed its experience in Manitoba. "The community here in Dauphin did an outstanding job. They hosted us real well," Nobili said. "Right from the host committee to the facility, it was next to none. This is definitely a phenomenal junior town. This is what they do." And Nobili made sure to remind his players what they accomplished this season, winning Oakville's second Ontario Hockey Association championship in the last three years. "This is a tournament of champions. Each of these teams are champions in their own right," he said. "We've got four trophies back home, played 31 playoff games, there was lots of stuff we've done positively. It stings right now and it will sting for a little bit, but hopefully in time we can look back and see that it was certainly not for naught." -- Jon Kuiperij ROYAL FAMILY: Oakville Royals president Mel Swinton established the baseball club seven years ago after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The 54-year-old gets a great deal of enjoyment interacting with the young players and helping them obtain college scholarships. ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Royals president does it for the kids By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Even as he battles a debilitating disease that forces him to rely on a motorized scooter to get around, there is one thing in particular that will always make Mel Swinton smile. "I enjoy meeting with the parents and the kids," says the president of the Oakville Royals Baseball Club. "I've expanded my family to all these kids, and nothing matters more to me than seeing these kids do well. Making them better ball players and better citizens at the same time." The Royals have been a great source of pride and joy for the 54-year-old local resident since he founded the club seven years ago, shortly after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. While the Royals do compete in the Premier Baseball League of Ontario as well as showcase tournaments throughout the United States, the true victories for Swinton aren't reflected in the standings. Rather, they come every time one of his players earns a college scholarship, something that more than 50 of them have done since 2003. "I don't care if we don't win a game in the PBLO," says Swinton, "as long as we can get kids into college." Andrew Filler is one of those success stories. The 17-year-old White Oaks student, described by his mother Deborah as a "C-minus student who was probably as round as he was tall" when he tried out for the Royals two years ago, recently accepted a four-year scholarship offer from the University of Ashford in Clinton, Iowa -- a package worth more than $80,000. The scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for Andrew, who moved to Canada from the Bahamas in 2000 after Hurricane Floyd ravaged the Caribbean islands. Deborah, a single mother who "settled in Oakville with 17 pieces of luggage and three kids," gets emotional when talking about Andrew's transformation into a lean 6-foot-2 left-handed pitcher armed with a Grade Point Average of 3.3. "They gave him the focus. They helped him believe in himself. They built his self confidence. They built his self esteem," she says. "There's the instant significance of that big blue jacket with the big `R' on it. Suddenly, he started strutting." Swinton says the Royals' emphasis on discipline, respect and commitment is the key to the organization's success in churning out quality individuals as well as elite ball players. "It all comes down to our expectations," adds Mel's son, Mike, who is the Royals vice-president as well as the bench coach of the 16-under team. "We demand certain things out of our players. If those expectations aren't met, you're out the door. We try to run ourselves as close to a professional or college setting as we can. "It all comes from our president, who implements it in our coaching staff and our coaching staff implements it in our players." Much to the appreciation of parents like Deborah Filler. "He's just a great humanitarian," she says of Swinton. "I think if he had his way, every child who could do it would do it."