Minor baseball is experiencing an upsurge in participation in Sackville, and the Sackville Minor Baseball Association is working to meet the increased demand.
This week, dozens gathered to celebrate a newly refurbished “Field of Dreams” diamond behind Salem Elementary School, funded by the Jays Care Foundation and New Brunswick’s Regional Development Corporation. The diamond is on property owned by the Anglophone East School District, and will be maintained by Tantramar parks and recreation staff.
CHMA was there:
Local baseball player Kipling Cober threw the first pitch at the new ball diamond. The 13-year-old player says she’s pleased to see the new facility, and the fact that it is helping accommodate the surge in interest in baseball.
“I think it’s cool that there’s more in involvement in girls baseball happening recently,” said Cober. “I grew up playing only with the boys and now I’m glad that there’s more chances for the girls to play.”
Cober now plays AA ball in Dieppe and with the New Brunswick provincial team.
Sacvkille Minor Baseball’s Mike Reid has a long list a thank-yous to go around for the $70,000 refurbishment project, including Jays Care, the Regional Development Corporation, the school district, local contractors Eastern Fence and Beech Hill Landscaping, Payzant’s Home Hardware, who donated lumber for new players benches, and SMBA members who helped build and install equipment for the field.
Reid says it’s been a lot of work, but he’s now extremely proud, not just of the new field, but of the growth in numbers of kids participating in the sport.
“In the last few years, we’ve probably seen a 30% increase in registration numbers in baseball,” says Reid. “We’ve introduced four new teams in the last two years.”
Reid is only half joking when he warns that he might need to start work on yet another field, “because this one is going to be occupied all summer long.”
Wednesday’s kick-off event had special guests coming all the way from Rogers Centre in Toronto. Robert Witchel, the executive director of Jays Care, said the Sackville project is just one of many across the country funded by the charitable foundation associated with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We’re big believers in the fact that baseball, if done intentionally, can be inclusive,” said Witchel. “It can help kids deal with physical and mental challenges in their lives.”
Witchel noted the number of girls participating on Wednesday. “The statistics show that girls hit 12-13 years old, and they just stop being involved in any sort of physical activity. And we’re hoping that this will get girls falling in love with, if not baseball, then sport in general, and participating in sport for their whole lives.”
Salem Elementary Principal Ada Phinney looked on as the game got started on Wednesday, and said she’s excited to see the enthusiasm for the sport grow among her students. “I’m just talking to a lot of our students here tonight and you know, they see each other with the jerseys on, and I think it’s going to be a big thing,” says Phinney. “I’m really thrilled to hear how many kids are involved in baseball this year in Sackville.”
