SUNDRE — Three squads from Sundre Minor Ball qualified to compete in provincial tournaments this summer, and although they were unable to place among the top-three finalists to bring home any medals, the organization’s president nevertheless hailed the past season as a resounding success.
Tournaments aside, Jason Bird said Sundre Minor Ball had perhaps one of its best years, along the way raising the bar and setting some new milestones.
Getting the season going at the beginning of April about a month earlier than ever before with indoor practices at the Sundre Community Centre, the organization was also able to make arrangements to hold practices at Timber River Station, which worked out well with plenty of space to spare, Bird told the Albertan.
“We will plan on practising early again next year using Timber River Station and Sundre Community Centre,” he said.
There were also plenty of eager players this season, he said.
"We had over 190 kids registered this year,” he said, adding that represented 18 teams supported by more than 50 volunteer organizers.
Additionally, Sundre Minor Ball was able to host more training clinics than average this year, he said.
“The board has been committed to offer as many skill development opportunities as we can,” he said, citing examples such as softball pitching, baseball skills, as well as coaching clinics.
And minor ball was also able to invest more than $10,000 in new equipment this year, he said, adding that included a pitching mound, back catcher and umpire equipment, jerseys, tee stands, a new chalk machine, first aid as well as other safety equipment, and more.
“We provide every player with a new hat each year,” he said.
Courtesy of several community contributions, there were also some upgrades carried out on the diamonds, including new shale as well as an infield expansion at Diamond 2, new plugs with caps that are buried in the ground to hold bases, as well as new doors installed on the pitching mound storage. And a new sponsorship sign was mounted featuring gold and silver sponsors who've donated $1,000 and $500 respectively, he said.
Throughout the season, three tournaments were also hosted locally, bringing to town many teams who competed in Sundre Minor Ball’s second annual Double Header Invitational, as well as the Chinook League’s U11 and U13 year-end tournaments, he said.
Following a successful inaugural run last year, he said Sundre Minor Ball also decided to continue paying for a digital service called TeamSnap.
“It’s a very useful app that all coaches, players, parents and board members use for scheduling, registration, (and) communication,” he said.
In a recap of the season’s highlights posted on Sundre Minor Ball’s social media, the organization praised the support from sponsors and volunteers who made such a successful season possible.
The three teams that qualified for provincial tournaments hosted in St. Albert but just fell short of placing for medals were the U13 Red Devils, the U15 Vipers, as well as the U17 Misfits.
Earlier in August, Sundre Minor Ball announced through social media a campaign to come up with a universal name for all of the teams. Organizers plan to narrow suggestions down to three of their favourites before putting that short list to a vote. As of last week, that process remained ongoing. Bird said the deadline for submissions is Sept. 11.
