By Sarah Tone, Communications Coordinator
Sport Manitoba offers a wide range of grants that emphasize training and skill development to facilitate the growth of athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers across the province. The Official Assistance Grant was used in Rosenort, Manitoba to assist with their minor ball program.
Build it and they will come
Chris Manning, treasurer of the Rosenort Minor Ball board, has been involved in building the Rosenort Minor Ball program from the ground up. “We showed up to the AGM one day and were essentially told if you’re here, you’re on the board and we just took it from there.”
From one team, the program has grown to having teams at all levels, and the Official Assistance Grant is helping to foster umpire growth within the community. “You can’t play without an umpire, and training individuals in our own league is way more cost effective than paying the mileage to bring one in.”
When you have an umpire, you can have a game, and Chris says they often marvel at how full the ballpark now gets. It’s a family-oriented sport and often encourages people to get together on a summer evening and enjoy the local games as a community.
Umping and player development
Funding assistance goes a long way in keeping the cost of participation low, and helps kids stay interested in the game as they age through the sport.
“I think every player should become an umpire just to gain an understanding of what it means to be on the other side of the plate and to make those calls, and it makes you a better player as well,” says Chris.
Kids can start taking umpire courses as young as age 12, and once they’ve passed the course can start umping for the age group below their own.
“We’ve found it’s a huge benefit to have umpires still playing. As players get older and start to take the game more seriously, there is a tendency to start questioning the calls of the umpire,” says Chris. “But having an umpire on your bench who will hear those conversations and be able to explain the rules a bit better and where the ump’s call was coming from goes a long way in developing those players and those teams as a whole.”
The value of officials
Just like all players contribute to the success of a team, officials contribute to the success of a sport. Becoming an official develops skills of accountability and leadership in a fun and interactive way. And, as officials age out of playing, it’s more likely that they will come back to the community as a coach.
“You hear the platitudes of how coaching is one of the most rewarding experiences of your life, but I’ve actually lived it,” says Chris. “Every year is different and I’m always learning. I think of a team I had last year and one game where it was really close and lots of back and forth but we ultimately lost. When it was over I asked the team what they thought and the overwhelming response I got was that it was the best game ever. It didn’t matter that we lost because they had so much fun.”
It’s a metaphor for how baseball works in a small community like Rosenort. Win or lose, it’s how you play the game. As a player, as an umpire, or as a coach, there’s always something to learn from interacting with other teams or kids of different ages. Plus, the added benefit of teaching leadership skills to the kids who will take on those next challenges.
For more information on Sport Manitoba’s grants, including funding opportunities for sport, and coach and athlete scholarships, visit our website.
