Message from the President…
Thank you to all the players, coaches and parents for another season
of baseball in Vernon. Over the past couple of years we have seen growth
in our numbers and this year was no exception. We were pleased particularly
with the number of teams and players that registered for the Mosquito,
Peewee and Bantam divisions.
We also had a team again in the Midget division. All of our teams by
the end of the season were competitive and enjoyed season ending tournaments
and many successes. In the lower divisions, we also had more participation
in our tadpole and mini-tad divisions. We look for continued growth
in these lower divisions and want to encourage participation in baseball.
There are a number of new initiatives being under taken by Baseball
Canada which should assist us in growing the sport both locally and
nationally.
Over the past year Baseball BC has started a new coaching program and
from those that participated this year, the new program offers much
more assistance in developing coaching skills and drills to increase
everyone's onfield enjoyment and skill development. The Vernon & District
Baseball Association is however in need of new volunteers to take over
many of the roles that are being vacated this year. We need volunteers
to assist in developing the programs being initiated by Baseball Canada
as well as those of Baseball BC and BC Minor.
We are going to see changes to the rules regarding pitchers and the
number of pitches they can throw in a game. We also need to see further
development of our Summer program and providing the more competitive
baseball player the ability to extend their season and play in competitive
tournaments. We also have a batting cage that needs to be developed
and completed so we can make better use of the things that have been
left for this association. We also need to develop some of our fields
and put additional time into their repair and maintenance.
I would personally like to thank Carl Vardon for all of his efforts
this season on field repair and maintenance as well as his role in managing
and distributing all of the equipment. I would also like to thank all
of the division coordinators for all their work in scheduling and arranging
coaches and teams, I know this is a difficult position and we all owe
you a thank-you. Lastly, I would like to thank all of those who have
served on this Board for the past year or longer and for all of your
efforts and assistance in promoting and ensuring the success of baseball
in Vernon.
Brent Barker President ;
Equipment Manager's Report This year has been a very busy one. The association purchased new equipment for all of the divisions and was able to handle this year increase in teams. Topping the list of purchases were pitching machines, catchers gear and new safety bases. The old equipment was sold at the opening day celebration garage sale which raised $150.00. With the increase in enrolment we had to spread out to Lavington Park which required another equipment box.
The remaining boxes will require some maintenance this fall. In April Rob McCluskey from Central Hardware donated the materials(about $1500.00 worth) for the new dug outs at Lakeview Park. We had a great turnout from the Mosquito parents and a few friends ( Kevin Blaeser and Kevin Porteous ) and were able to build them in time for the start of the season. This fall we are going to start on the new batting cage at Creekside Park. This will require several weekends and volunteers. A special thanks to Patti and Gina for organizing the shelves at Creekside Park.
Carl Vardon,
Equipment Manager
Welcome to a new season of baseball.
We're happy to have you back for the upcoming season and welcome all the
new players, parents and coaches to Vernon & District Baseball.
For those that don't know we are a member of BC Minor Baseball and follow their rules and regulations. We don't participate in the Little league World Series, but we have had many accomplishments as an organization over the past number of years. In 2006 we were the Peewee AA Provincial Champions and saw our players participate in the Western Canadian Championships with live radio broadcasts from Yorkton, Saskatchewan. We've also had a number of players that have played in our association go on to play college baseball. We are very proud of what we offer to aspiring baseball players.
We look forward to 2008 with plans for continued growth in all our divisions; similar to the 40% growth we had last year in our youngest divisions.
This year we are offering new and returning coaches the opportunity to improve their coaching skills through BC Baseball coaches clinics and participation in our off season program.
We will also be conducting an umpire clinic prior to opening day. If you're a Peewee player age or older, you can earn spending money by umpiring, we really want to encourage more umpires for this season.
We are currently planning an indoor spring training session which we will be conducted by the Diamondbacks, our senior men's team that made it to last year's provincial championships. We're very excited to offer this program beginning in January and ending just prior to the start of our season.
This year we again will provide every player from Tadpole up with a brand new uniform that will be theirs to keep at the end of the season. This is something we're able to offer through our fundraising efforts and are proud of this fact. We also have new equipment for all divisions with some of the latest bats and this year Vernon and District logoed baseballs.
We welcome you and want
to make the season enjoyable for players and parents alike. We can always
use volunteers, please don't hesitate to get involved. Have a great season,
see you at the park enjoying the game and let's all cheer Jeff Francis
and the Colorado Rockies on to a 2008 World Series Championship.
Brent Barker
President Vernon and District Baseball Association
Email: president@vernonminorbaseball.com