Young Waterloo Region baseball players featured in national campaign
A couple of Waterloo Region kids have been featured in a new campaign to inspire more people to try the sport of baseball.
The Jays Care Foundation recently launched some new commercials to highlight its programs, featuring real participants. Among the kids who make appearances are Greyson Bonnick, 9, and Grady Spain, 10.
“My best part of baseball is [when] I do the home run,” Bonnick tells CTV News.
Greyson Bonnick (left) and Grady Spain (right) appear in a Jays Care Foundation commercial. (Youtube/Jays Care Foundation)
The teammates, from Waterloo and Cambridge, are now in a nationwide campaign that highlights a series of Jays Care initiatives, including Challenger Baseball – the adaptive program both Bonnick and Spain are a part of.
Their coach, Cam Linwood, nominated a few athletes in the program to participate in the commercial.
“Adaptive baseball is exactly that – it adapts to the unique needs of every single athlete. And we really focus on making the game fit the athlete and not making the athlete fit the game,” says Linwood, who also works for the Jay Care Foundation.
Cambridge's Grady Spain, 10, is pictured in Jays Care Foundation campaign aimed at inspiring more people to try baseball. (Source: Jays Care Foundation)
The campaign’s slogan is: “When you belong, you believe.”
“I think the most important part is recognizing that not everyone has equal access to sport programming in Canada. When we look at a campaign like ‘You belong, you believe,’ I think the real big tenet is the fact that when you really feel like you belong to something, you start believing in yourself,” Linwood says.
It’s a message Bonnick wants to share. Asked what he would tell a kid who wanted to play baseball but had doubts about their ability, his answer is simple.
“I could help you out,” he says.
Greyson Bonnick, 9, from Waterloo, is part of an adaptive baseball team in Waterloo Region. (Source: Jays Care Foundation)
Viewers will be able to the see the campaign when watching Blue Jays games on television and when attending in-person at the Rogers Centre.
As for Bonnick and Spain, they were pretty pleased to see themselves on the screen.
“I was happy,” says Bonnick.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Foreign meddling 'did not affect' overall federal election results: inquiry report
Foreign interference by China did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 general elections won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a federal commission of inquiry has found.
BREAKING Police arrest 3 in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
WATCH LIVE Funeral today for broadcasting legend and voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada' Bob Cole
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded west of Vancouver Island
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was reported west of Vancouver Island Thursday evening.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
How falling for a stranger she met on a beach led this woman to ditch the U.S. for the French Riviera
Niki Benjamin, from the U.S., had travelled to a paradise island to do some soul searching, and her life ended up going in a very different direction when her dog ran up to a stranger.
Biscuits with possible plastic pieces, metal found in ground pork: Here are the recalls for this week
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Supreme Court orders new trial for B.C. francophone who was not given French option
The Supreme Court is ordering a new trial for a francophone man in British Columbia who says he was not informed of his right to have a trial in the official language of his choice.