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Sports Oakville Beaver SEEING STARS: Oakville 10-yearold Dasan Brown will compete in the North American finals of the Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run competition next week in Kansas City. The Oakville major mosquito A's player will also have an opportunity to attend the MLB All-Star Game, meet the all-stars and shag fly balls in the outfield during the home run derby. GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2012 39 Oakville youngster to compete at MLB All-Star Game By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Oakville youngster Dasan Brown will have something in common with Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols and some of baseball's other superstars next week in Kansas City. He'll be competing at the MLB All-Star Game. Brown obviously won't be playing in the all-star game itself, or suiting up in the home run derby. Instead, the 10-year-old will be gunning for a division championship in the Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run competition after finishing among the top three in North America during qualifying. Brown, a member of the Oakville A's major mosquito AAA team, said he initially entered the contest for fun and never dreamed it would bring him to baseball's Mid-Summer Classic. But after winning the 9-10 boys' division at local and sectional levels of qualifying, Brown's score at the Toronto Blue Jays championship recently at the Rogers Centre earned him the trip to Kansas City. Brown was actually one of two A's players to win their divisions at the Rogers Centre. Minor peewee AAA player Ethan Hammond finished first in the boys' 11-12 age group, but his score wasn't enough to qualify for the North American finals. Contest participants earn points based on their performances in pitching, hitting and running. The pitching portion of the contest tests players' abilities to hit targets from 45 feet away; the hitting measures the distance they hit the ball off a tee; and the running times how quickly they can get around the bases. Brown, a centerfielder who also enjoys track and field, said the running was his strongest point. Perhaps the key to qualifying for the North American finals, however, was his improvement as a hitter this season. "With hitting, I had a bit of a rough time at the beginning of the year, but my dad helped me a bit," said Brown, whose coach with the A's is Paul Harbour. "Now I'm getting two hits a game." The Aquafina Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run finals will be held Monday afternoon on the field at Kauffman Stadium, prior to the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day. Brown said he has a plan to ensure he won't be nervous performing in front of a large crowd. "I'll pretend everybody's in their underwear," said the Ecole Forest Trail Public School student, adding he's more excited about shagging balls during the home run derby, meeting the all-stars and attending the game than he is about competing in the Pitch, Hit & Run finals. "I know I'm going to come in the top three, since there's only three people competing (in his division). But I'm aiming for first." Brown's mother, Patricia, marvels at the way her son has taken his success in stride. "He's handling it very well. We've always taught him to be humble, take one step at a time, do your best and improve from there," she said, "and that's exactly what he's done." -- Jon Kuiperij can be followed on Twitter @Beaversports Taekwondo runs in the family By Lucas Casaletto SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Cathryn Paul and her family of four all have one thing in common that almost all other families do not. They all have black belts. Paul, husband Laurence Prystawski and their two children, 13-year-old Ben and 10-year-old Zoe have all obtained the prestigious black belt, typically the highest belt colour handed out in the sport. Horizon Taekwondo head instructor Louie Sanchez said it's particularly rare to see two youngsters show the willingness to train in order to earn a black belt. "I have been teaching martial arts for 25 years and I don't give black belts out easily. It takes a lot of fitness and hard work to get it done, something both Ben and Zoe showed me," Sanchez said. "That displays tremendous dedication. We are very lucky to have people like that train at our club." Paul began taekwondo while attending university and said that, even as a teenager, it was something she always wanted. "I started when I was 19 years old. It was always something I wanted to take up. That is when both me and my husband began doing it together, when I met him in law school," Paul said. Once Paul and Prystawski decided to have children, time demands forced them to bring a halt to their participation in the sport. But as their children grew older, Paul decided she wanted to start up martial arts once again. The family joined Horizon in September of 2004 and has been there ever since. Paul said the kids found taekwondo difficult at first, but their perseverance is what impressed her most as a mother. She said that she is very happy See Black, page 41 DON'T MESS WITH THIS FAMILY: Local residents (left to right) Zoe Prystawski, Cathryn Paul, Laurence Prystawski and Ben Prystawski all have their black belts in taekwondo. Their instructor, Louie Sanchez, says it's very rare for an entire family of four to all have earned the prestgious black belt. MARTA IWANEK / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER