-
o

BASEBALL PLAYER Col-
in Dixon is hoping
Christmas will come early
this year. And at the top of
his wish list is an invitation
to the Boston Red Sox’s
spring training camp in
Winterhaven, Fla.

By Elizabeth Collings
News Reporter

Back in West Vancouver after a
season with the New Britain Red
Sox, Dixon, 23, has a few free
months for education and work
before his new contract arrives in
December for the upcoming
season.

“Pm sort of hoping that this
year I'll have a c to go to
major league si: training,’’
says the amiable .!.4 baseman.
“I've been told that that's proba-
bly a good possibility.”’

Signed by the Red Sox in June
1989, Dixon has since played the
minors — half of ’89 in the Penn-
sylvania State League, *90 in the
Florida State League, and, most
recently, '91 in the Eastern League
where he played ‘‘AA’’ in New
Britain, Connecticut.

Prior to that Dixon spent a
semester at a southeastern Lou-
siana university where he was on a
full scholarship.

“It was the type of school that
was really good exposure down
there, you play all the big col-
leges,’’ says Dixon, adding that he
went to Louisiana with the hope
of getting drafted.

When first approached by the
Red Sox organization, Dixon
didn’t sign because he felt the
contract on offer wasn’t good
enough.

“I had the opportunity to go
back on a full scholarship to
Louisiana and go back to the
draft the next year.

“It was a tough call at the time
but i think I made the right deci-
sion,’’ says Dixon.

Boston came back with a better
offer which provided him with
enough money for three years at a
major U.S. college.

Dixon acknowleges that since

Boston Red Sox in 1989 and was a feading player this season for the New Britain

tain, Conneticut.

Signing, life on the road in the
minor league hasn’t always been
easy. He started at $850 per
month with which he had to pay
for accommodation, food and
clubhouse dues.

““You’re on your own, It’s real-
ly tough. Everyone thinks it’s re-
ally glamorous.”’

Dixon describes a typical day
Starting with a practice and
warm-up at 3 p.m. before a 7
p.m. game. After the game is over
at Il p.m., the team showers,
eats, then hops on a bus for a
10-hour bus trip before checking
into the next hotel to start over
again. The New Britain Red Sox
played 145 games last season with
only three days off between April
and September.

“It’s not so bad, but over the

College celebrates
Sportsplex opening

THE GRAND opening of the
Capilano College Sportsplex will
be held Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. The
ceremony will feature entertain-
ment and demonstrations by
North Shore musical and athletic
groups.

The Capilano College Sport-
splex is a multi-purpose recre-
ational and athletic facility which
will serve the college and the three
North Shore communities. In ad-
dition to being the home of the
Capilano College Blues athletic
teams, fitness, recreation and in-
structional programs for ail ages
will be offered in cooperation with
the North Vancouver Recreation
Commission.

The Sportsplex will also be used
for a wide range of special events
such as professional fairs, conven-
tions, lectures and festivals.

Capita! cost of the Sportsplex

“the Capilano College

rr rT

was $1.2 million. Funding for the
project has been provided by the
provincial government through the
ministry of advanced education.
training and technology and the
recreation Jottery fund, the
District of North Vancouver, the
City of North Vancouver, the
District of West Vancouver and
Students
Society.

Guests at the ceremony will in-
clude Angus Ree, MLA for North
Vancouver-Capilano, North Van-
couver City Mayor Jack Loucks,
West Vancouver Mayor Mark
Sager and Alderman Janice Har-
tis. Performances will be given by:
Flicka Gymnastics Club, Karate
B.C. Association, Capilano Col-
fege aerobics class, B.C. Rhythmic
Gymnastics Association, Voice
Deco, and Kathy Wright Dancers.

The public is invited to attend
this gala event. Admission is free.

ae)

course of five or six months, it
can be a strain,’ he says. ‘*‘When
you play every day it’s just a con-
stant grind. You really have to be
on top of it, keep a positive at-
titude, especially when you're
down.”’

Dixon characterizes his season
in New Britain as ‘‘strange.”’

First, he had a slow start to the
season while he adjusted.

“The level of basebali changes.
It becomes more major league
calibre. You can just tell you’re a
step or two from the major league
~— the sort of feeling it’s getting
closer, hopefully,’’ says Dixon.

Then mid-season he got food
poisoning from Chinese food
which put him into hospital and
out of play for a month.

**f ordered a pretty big helping

five-kilometer

Ss at major

Wednesday,

and ate it all. I never went back
there again,”’ he says, laughing.

He picked up his game by sev-
eral notches in the latter part of
the season, finishing with a .270
average but estimates that in his
last two months he had a .380
average. Dixon was named player
of the month for August even
though he missed 12 games
because of a wrist injury.

Playing third base and some
first base, the 6°3’’, 215-pound
Dixon was second on his team in
batting average and seventh in the
Eastern League. He hit four of
the five home runs his team hit at
the large home field in New Bri-
tain this season.

Although his team finished last
in the Eastern League, Dixon says
they lost 10 players to “AAA”

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman
WEST VANCOUVER’S Colin Dixon is hoping to crack the major league this spring. The 23-year-old Hillside grad signed with the

ed Sox based in Boston's affiliate city, New Bri-

and the big league which gives
him reason to be optimistic.

“It seems in the last couple of
years, a lot of guys go Straight
from ‘‘AA"’ to major league and
are successful,’’ he says.

While he waits for his next con-
tract, Dixon is taking courses at
Capilano College and working for
his father Ian Dixon, a financial
consultant, who signed with the
Yankies in the early °60s. He
eventually plans to get an eco-
nomics degree. .

For the time being, Dixon will
continue to take a swing at the
major league.

“T just don’t want to look back
when ('m 30 and say ‘God, [
should have done that while what
I'm doing is something that I
could have done later.”

NEWS photo Neif Lucente

THESE ARE just some of the more than 250 people who took advantage of a beautiful Sunday
morning and the opportunity to raise money in the 11th annual Terry Fox Run. Run organizer Pat
Boname said $5,000 was raised on the North Shore through pledges and the sale of T-shirts. The
run began at Ambleside park. Last year’s run invoived 235 participants with
$6,400 raised for cancer research.