15-year-old Strathmore athlete Declan Wurz has been scouted by the Dawgs Baseball Academy and will be moving to Okotoks to play for the team.

Wurz, a multi-sport athlete, has been playing baseball since he was three years old, starting out with the Strathmore Reds.

“He has had a drive for baseball since he was walking,” the mother of Declan, Alisa Wurz, said.

Two summers ago, Wurz was scouted by the academy but decided to hold off for a while so he could play a few more years with his former team, the Calgary Bucks. 

Wurz has been practicing with the Dawgs for two months and will be moving to Okotoks at the start of February, where he will attend Foothills Composite High School.

To prepare for the academy, Wurz trains four to six times a week, all while playing basketball for the Strathmore Spartans senior team. Wurz also played hockey but had to choose one sport to pursue.

“I chose to pursue baseball over hockey and basketball because I enjoyed it the most, and I was the best at it, so it wasn't really a hard decision to make,” Wurz said.

In August, Wurz competed in the Alberta Summer Games, where he played against a few of the guys who will be on his team.

Okotoks Acadamy is only a step in Wurz’s big plans, as it is his dream to attend the University of Florida on a baseball scholarship, where he hopes to study kinesiology and physiotherapy.

From there, Wurz wants to try at least to make it to the minor leagues for baseball.

“Even if I don't end up making it, I want to pursue kinesiology and physiotherapy to help other athletes,” Wurz said.

While going to school in Okotoks, Wurz will be living with a billet family during the week and will come home on weekends to visit his family.

“I am super excited for him. I know that it takes a village to raise an athlete, and I am very thankful for my friends Joelle and Jason for taking Declan in,” mother Alisa Wurz said.

The Wurz family currently has a 17-year-old student-athlete living with them who has lived with them since he was 14. Every year, he stays with the family from September until the end of June to play hockey, so the family has already experienced what it is like to have a child seriously pursue a sport.

Wurz thanks his old Calgary Bucks coaches, Cory and Phil Curtis, and Jordy Alexander, for helping him get to where he is today.

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