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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, June 22, 2012 · 46 Pursue your dreams, Jays broadcaster tells students By Lucas Casaletto SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Rogers Sportsnet baseball analyst Jamie Campbell has one simple piece of advice for aspiring students: pursue what inspires you. The Oakville native attended Pine Grove School Tuesday to speak with Grade 7 students about his path to becoming a sports broadcaster. The children sat attentively as Campbell told them stories of his childhood, and how young students like them shouldn't worry too much about making a decision concerning their future too quickly. "You don't necessarily have to know what you want to do for the rest of your lives after you graduate from school. What you should be focusing on is your friends and your family and, most of all, your school work and having a good time," he said. Kyle Fitzgerald was the first to put up his hand when Campbell asked what interested the group as a potential job for the future, and Fitzgerald happened to have the same interest as Campbell when he was a kid. Sports were always a big part of Campbell's life, who explained it was at a very young age when he fell in love with baseball and hockey. "I fell passionately in love with both those things when I was right around their age. I would trade and collect hockey cards in the bathroom and I never thought for a second at that time I could make my living in sports," he said. "I was so driven and interested in it that when I got to Oakville Trafalgar High School, instead of going home after school was finished or trying out for the sport teams, I would go downtown and visit the hotels that the Blue Jays players were staying at." Campbell's first media job came in 1987, when he worked for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada as a runner and would fetch the hockey players' towels before they were interviewed by Ron MacLean and Don Cherry. "It was technically a job, but I did not feel like I was DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO: Rogers Sportsnet baseball analyst Jamie Campbell (right) addresses Pine Grove students Tuesday. Campbell, an Oakville Trafalgar grad, told the students to determine what they want to do with their life and then go after it. MARTA IWANEK / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTO working. I would have done it for free, and that is when I realized that I wanted to be just like Ron MacLean. I wanted to be the guy who sat there interviewing the players," he said. "I decided at that age that I was going to set out my goals, and achieve them." Campbell went on to tell the students that a job should not be something they dislike. They should want to get out of bed and enjoy what they are doing every single day. He added that if you want something enough, the path there isn't difficult. The hardest part is figuring out what you truly want to do with your life. "I have no complaints about where I am because if I wasn't working for the Blue Jays, I would be at the ballpark. I love going to work every day and I look at the clock and want to just head straight there because of the fun I have," Campbell said. Campbell will be attending the upcoming Olympic Summer Games in London, England, where he will be covering cycling. He previously covered the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, when he was the voice heard around Canada announcing that Alexandre Bilodeau won the first gold medal for Canada in freestyle skiing. "That has to be the most memorable experience for me as a broadcaster," he said. "I carry with me a few memories but nothing beats my passion for the Olympics and covering that historic event for Canada's first gold medal." Novice Angels beat out bantams in Georgetown The Oakville Angels novice 14-under fastpitch team was up to the challenge. Looking to give their players a stiffer test, the Angels' coaches entered the team in the bantam 16U division at the Halton Hawks Spring Tournament in Georgetown. Oakville responded by winning five of seven contests and claiming the championship. The Angels clinched the gold with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Kitchener Klassics in the final. Oakville trailed 2-0 going into the seventh and final inning, but rallied for five runs in the top of the frame and held on for the win. Emily Dodge clubbed a tworun triple to tie the game, then scored on a double by Ciara Papaioannou. Karly Gomes provided some insurance with a tworun single that cashed Papaioannou and Heather White. Oakville won its two other playoff games at the tournament, 3-2 over the Brampton Blazers and 6-4 over the Mississauga Southwest Hurricanes, after splitting its four games in the round robin. Other Angels highlights from the tournament included five runs batted in by Sarah Benn and four more by Adriana Nicpon in a 15-0 rout of the Halton Hills Hawks in the opening game; an 11-strikeout performance by pitcher Sarah Benn in a 2-1 loss to Desboro; and three hits by Charlene Cruz and four RBIs by Dodge in the semifinal win over Mississauga Southwest. Also contributing during the tournament were Emma Webster, Nicole Lemieux, Katie Jaeggin, Jesse Korta and Shelby Hayward. Halton Hawks Spring Tournament recently. PLAYING BEYOND THEIR YEARS: The Oakville novice Angels beat out bantam-aged teams to win the U16 Thunder concludes strong campaign The Oakville Thunder under-16 Blue girls' volleyball team recently concluded a strong season with a seventh-place finish at a 42-team tournament in Pittsburgh. Oakville also finished the year as one of the top 25-ranked teams in Canada and one of the top 10 in Ontario. Members of the team are Joanna Kadwell, Julia Kaczarowska, Megan Nash, Olivia Pulin, Kyler Philip, Lyndsey Allingham, Danielle Henriques, Simran Gill, Taylor Leshuk and Julia Celestini. Alex Spiro and Anthony Arnone coach the team.