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BC Minor / Baseball BC Coaches Convention recap

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Thoughts and dreams of green grass, warm days and the sounds of youth baseball are not limited to summer months -- that much was proven this past weekend (Feb. 8-10) as the B.C. Minor Baseball Association held its coaching conference and youth camps in Surrey.

Thanks to partnerships with Baseball B.C., Baseball Canada and the Toronto Blue Jays, the event helped more than 150 volunteer coaches add to their credentials, and two separate youth sessions, one for high-performance and one for 12-and-under players, helped minor players plan for a summer of fun on the diamond -- and success in the game for the future. At the same time, dozens of umpires were involved in a Super Clinic offering that covered all aspects of officiating the great game of baseball.

Long-time BCMBA board member Mike Kelly was the driving force behind the committee that put on the coaching conference, which saw a vast array of topics covered by current and former pro and college coaches, and even ex-MLB stars Duane Ward and Homer Bush, who shone on the highest stage with the Toronto Blue Jays and brought their stories to the coaches and high-performance players in attendance at the sessions and the banquet.

Saturday's Roll of Honor luncheon -- which recognized BCBUA umpires Chuck Blaikie and Bill Murphy, BC Senior Baseball builder Dave Kirk, and builders Ralph Russell from BC Minor Baseball and Derrick Surowski from BC Babe Ruth -- and the evening anniversary banquet were well-attended and served as outstanding opportunities for some of the hard-working amateur baseball people in B.C. to hear words of encouragement from Ward and Bush.

Already, planning is underway to hold the coaches conference again in 2014, and to expand on the many great aspects of the weekend gone by.

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