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Cattoni still hitting them out of the park |
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Written by Dale Woodard
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Thursday, July 16 2009, 10:40 PM |
Whether he’s hitting the ball or the books, Eric Cattoni has proven to be adept at both.
While you won’t find the Lethbridge Bulls alumnus in the lineup as the Bulls host the Swift Current Indians at 7:05 p.m. tonight at Spitz Stadium, Cattoni has made his mark on the program and now plans to hit a bigger home run in the field of medicine.
But while school is going to be front-and-centre for the next four years as Cattoni gets set to head to Edmonton in the fall to attend the University of Alberta, last weekend was all about being a Bull again as the club held its Alumni Game on Sunday, commemorating the team’s 10-year anniversary.
“It’s nice of the Bulls to fit us into their season,” said Cattoni, whose past Bulls teammates fell 9-4 to the current incarnation of the team.
But the final score was secondary as the past and present members mixed and mingled on the field after the game, posing for photos and sharing old stories. “They’re having a good season and they have a good squad. It’s nice to get on the field with some guys I played with before and (see) some old friends and coaches. It’s a good night.”
And he’s headed for a good career.
Cattoni received his undergrad degree at St. Mary`s College of Calfornia in San Franciso last May and spent the last year working and travelling.
“I was there (St. Mary’s) for three years and I was at Southern Idaho for two years where I played junior college ball,” said Cattoni. “So it was five years total for the undergraduate degree.”
Now the Bulls alumnus is taking his education north.
“I’m preparing for medical school at the U of A starting in August,” said Cattoni. “So it was nice to get on the field before that starts because (baseball) is probably going to be few and far between once I get on that.”
Not that Cattoni hasn’t crammed some baseball into his schedule before he shifts his focus on his education.
“I was with Team Canada last summer and we were over in the Czech Republic,” said Cattoni, who headed overseas with fellow Bulls alumni Grant Kveder, Ken Fuglerud and Dustin Northcott.
“Then I was in Europe for about a month-and-a-half just travelling with some friends.” In addition to taking in some sights, Cattoni also got a first-hand glimpse of some international baseball talent.
“In the Czech Republic we were playing in the World Tournament,” said Cattoni. “Team Japan and Team USA were dream teams. They were absolutely phenomenal amateur ball teams and it was a pleasure to play against teams like that. As far as over in Europe, they have some pro leagues in the Czech Republic that are coming up and the Czech National team was alright. They’re definitely developing over as far as a baseball program. A lot of European countries are doing so as well.”
Now it’s off to the U of A.
“So that’ll be four more years and maybe a few more after that if I specialize,” said Cattoni.
“But I haven’t decided yet.”
But that’s not to suggest his ball glove is going into mothballs.
“I’ll fit it in whenever I can,” said Cattoni. “Maybe do some coaching in the summer and play on some men’s league teams because I’ll have the summers off.
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