There are reasons to be excited for the upcoming minor baseball season, said Michelle Hembling, vice-president of Canora Minor Baseball.
Player registrations are up about 10 per cent compared to last year. What makes that even more encouraging is that 2015 was the first time in many years that Canora had a peewee team, which is 12 and 13-year-olds, said Hembling.
In keeping with the increase in interest, this year Canora will have its first bantam baseball team in recent memory, for ages 14 and 15.
In yet another first, a Canora mosquito team, ages 9 to 11, will be competing in the provincial championships scheduled for Saskatoon on July 14 to 16, said Hembling.
Even though player registrations are up by 10 per cent over last year, Hembling says players can continue to register until April 29, the start of the new season.
Other than the mosquito and bantam age groups mentioned earlier, the 2017 Canora Minor Baseball season will also include junior rookies and rookies, ages six to eight, and T-ball, ages four and five, said Hembling.
With the increase in player registrations comes a corresponding increased need for umpires, according to Hembling. Canora Minor Baseball will be holding a level one umpire clinic on April 30 at the Canora Sportsground.
The clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is co-ordinated by Murray Bucsis, Zone 4 umpire director. Bucsis said the minimum age to register for the clinic is normally 12, but they occasionally have accepted 11-year-olds based on the character of the individual.
A level one umpire clinic is mainly focused on the fundamental tools needed to umpire a game. That includes the basic rules such as balls/strikes, safe/out and fair/foul, Bucsis said.
The clinic also includes drills on being in the right position to make the proper call, as well as how to work with the other umpires in a game as a smooth running crew, said Bucsis.
After completing a level one clinic, umpires can begin working games. In most cases, they start with games at the younger levels. But to become a fully certified umpire, they need to complete the two-year program. Even after that, there is still plenty more learning to do through gaining experience, he said
Once baseball season starts, if he’s not actually umpiring a game, Bucsis is usually out at a tournament somewhere around Melville, Yorkton and the surrounding area, including Canora, mentoring young umpires. He encourages all experienced umpires to do the same whenever possible. It’s important to remember that if young umpires are consistently getting useful tips, they will usually improve and stay in the game for many years, says Bucsis
Persons wishing to register for the umpire clinic are asked to contact Michelle Hembling.
The 2017 Canora Minor Baseball executive committee includes: Matt Nehaj, president; Michelle Hembling, vice-president; Michelle Goetzinger, treasurer; Elly Carlson, secretary; Brittany Kalynuk, registrar, and Lisa Strozen, equipment manager.
