For Love of the Game

The Lawsons are a baseball family.

It is those two components – baseball and family – that meant the most to Jim Lawson.

During his 52 years of life, Jim not only cultivated his own love of baseball in his children, he inspired a lasting fondness for the game in those who took the field with him.

Since passing away on Aug. 8th, following a bout with brain cancer, the founder of the Pro Baseball Force (PBF) Redbirds program leaves this world with a pioneering legacy that extends across Canada and all the way up to the Major League Baseball (MLB) level.

Parental Guidance

Standing 6-foot-5, Gary Soroka was always someone that his son could look up to.

As a child, Mike Soroka didn’t have much of a choice.

But the imposing figure that his father was on a physical level – Gary was urged to become an enforcer in his hockey-playing days – clashed with his gentle parenting style. He preferred a guiding hand to a clenched fist.