With the 2013 baseball season right around the corner Baseball.ca will visit with each of the 10 Provincial organizations during a 10 week period. This week we meet with Baseball Newfoundland and Labrador’s Ken Dawe.
The baseball season in Newfoundland and Labrador is set to kick-off after a long winter and people in Canada’s eastern-most province are excited at the prospect of a new season.
“There has been a steady increase in registration numbers in each of the past seven years,” said Baseball NL Executive Director Ken Dawe.
Dawe says that the increase in registration has a number of factors that have played a part in the success.
“Activities including late May/early June scheduled High School, Junior High, and Elementary School tournaments and six invitational tournaments in various age groups in June/July are providing an opportunity for some individuals to get a first taste of baseball,” he said. “Winter camps and training have also become more prominent the past few years and are assisting with player development.”
Baseball NL is also making it a priority to deliver quality programming to its members like the Rally Cap and Winterball programs along with new programs like My First Pitch and Grand Slam.
“Rally Cap and Winterball have become essential first stepping stones for young players,” explained Dawe. “The local associations using the Rally Cap program are very high on its structured manner of teaching skills in a way that keeps the players active at all times, and thus retaining their interest.”
Dawe says that local associations using the program have helped spread the word to other associations contemplating using Rally Cap.
“They have seen the benefits within their communities and are first to encourage all the other associations to use the program.”
My First Pitch and Grand Slam are also set to debut in Newfoundland and Labrador this summer which will come to the delight of many coaches, parents and players who are looking for new programs to use.
“There has been a demand from coaches for the importance of teaching proper pitching mechanics right from the start,” said Dawe. “Baseball NL is appreciative of Baseball Canada in establishing the Winterball, My First Pitch, Rally Cap, Grand Slam, and the new NCCP Coaching programs as we see the huge benefit of these programs in the long term development of coaches and players.”
Another area that Baseball NL has seen growth in recent years is in that of officiating. Dawe says the umpiring program has been growing by ‘leaps and bounds’ over the past two years which bodes well for the future.
The province is also being proactive when it comes to ‘bullying’ and has come up with a method used in another sport to try and change behaviour.
“Similar to soccer, a yellow card system will be used in the younger age divisions as a warning to coaches that running out onto the field to protest judgment calls by umpires will not be tolerated,” explained Dawe. “Baseball NL will also be placing signage at fields to inform fans that the abuse of umpires, coaches and players is not acceptable behaviour.”
Some new rules are coming into play at the 13U (Peewee) and 11U (Mosquito) divisions in 2013 that will see all players on the roster bat and play a minimum number of innings defensively in each game in an effort for young players to develop in the sport and stay in the sport.
The Toronto Blue Jays will be hosting a Honda Super Camp in St. John’s July 15-17 at Airport Heights Field which is undergoing renovations thanks in large part to a grant obtained from Jays Care Foundation which was matched by the City of St. John’s to go along with funds from St. John’s Minor Baseball.
For registration information, please click HERE
A Girls Baseball Day is planned for July 14th and Baseball NL will send a provincial team to the Bantam Girls International Invitational in August.
Baseball NL will also host year-end Atlantic tournaments in September in the 15U (Bantam) and 13U (Peewee) divisions.
For more information on Baseball NL, please visit www.sport.ca/nlbaseball
