'Standstill at this point': SMBA needs house league coaches for the upcoming ball season
“This is probably the worst I’ve seen this late in the year, looking for coaches," Mike Lebel said.
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The Soo Minor Baseball Association is facing a coaching crunch for the upcoming ball season.
“(The shortage of coaches) puts us at a standstill at this point,” Mike Lebel told The Sault Star. “We’ve organized the number of teams per division, we have taken registration, we have got equipment and uniforms in place. Now, we need coaches to work with these young people so they can have an opportunity to play baseball during the summer.”
Lebel is the longtime president of the SMBA.
“I’ve been doing this for over 25 years, and this is probably the most vacancies we have had this late in the season,” Lebel said. “This is probably the worst I’ve seen this late in the year, looking for coaches.”
The SMBA requires nine coaches for the following house league divisions: Junior T-Ball (3), T-Ball (3), 9U (1) and 16U (2).
The requirements are de minimis. Certification levels are not required to hold a coaching position.
“For some of the age groups, especially the younger ones, you don’t need a great deal of a baseball background as we offer assistance to all new coaches,” Lebel said. “We run training sessions, we have (experienced) people who come out to practice to assist with drills and what we are trying to accomplish because each age group is different.”
For T-ball players, it’s really a plug ‘n play kind of scenario.
“We are just looking at the fundamentals, teaching them how to throw a baseball properly, how to catch a baseball and how to swing the bat and some of the basic rules of the game so they can have an opportunity to enjoy the game with their teammates.”
Prior evaluation sessions have been cancelled, another round coming up soon.
“We have evaluations scheduled for next week, weather permitting, for these age groups and for them to go forward we need to have coaches in place who can evaluate the players,” Lebel said. “In junior T-ball and T-ball we just divide the kids up usually by neighbourhoods so that is not that important.”
To ensure a memorable experience for all participants, coaches are more essential for older divisions, as Lebel explained.
“In the older age groups there is a draft because we are trying to balance the teams out, so the kids are equal in ability, so everyone is enjoying their summer, and no team is being dominated by another team,” the president said. “To do that properly, we need coaches in place.”
SMBA vice president Pat Henderson is the contact person for people interested in assuming a position of leadership.
“Henderson has been working his tail off, working the phones and the email trying to fill these vacancies,” Lebel said. “He has been working relentlessly trying to fill these voids.”
For more information Henderson can be reached at: pat_henderson20@outlook.com.
Lebel says the benefits of volunteering are far-reaching and impactful for kids and coaches alike.
“Volunteers will find this to be a rewarding experience, working with a group of young people who are like sponges looking for information and looking for someone to give them some direction,” Lebel said. “Watching them build as a person and a player over the summer is the most rewarding part of coaching … people will find volunteering a rewarding thing. The rewards are well worth the time and effort required.”
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