With the 2013 baseball season right around the corner Baseball.ca will visit with each of the 10 Provincial organizations during a 10 week period. This week we meet with Baseball PEI Executive Director Jacob Smith.
Baseball Prince Edward Island went through a transition in the off-season which saw Jacob Smith take over as Executive Director.
Smith, a native of Georgetown Royalty, PEI, is a recent graduate of the Kinesiology Program at the University of New Brunswick where he was a two-time National Champion with the Varsity Reds baseball team.
“I’m extremely excited about the new position as this is the area that I have been hoping to take my Kinesiology degree,” said Smith. “I have a huge love for baseball and love sharing and teaching the game to kids.
“I’m very excited to see baseball grow over the next few years.”
Since stepping into the office in early April, Smith has been part of a make-over that includes a new logo and updated website for Baseball PEI.
“The new logo came along because the old one is just that, old and dated,” explained Smith. “The updated website gives us a more modern look and I have also built a Facebook page to create more of a social media buzz.
“With a new logo will come new clothing and merchandise which will hopefully reinvigorate people.”
“We are going to use the new logo everywhere and anywhere we can.”
Brand awareness is something that Smith sees as a priority as the organization moves forward with the hopes of spurring growth in the future.
“We want to get to a point where people understand who we are and what were are trying to accomplish.”
Smith has been busy banging on doors of the corporate community looking for corporate partners willing to invest in amateur baseball such as Comfort Inn who has recently became the official hotel of Baseball PEI.
With registration now complete, indications are that many teams will be hitting the fields soon to get their season started which is positive for a sport that has a strong grassroots tradition in the province.
“Baseball in PEI is a traditional grassroots game that has been played for many years all across the Island,” added Smith. “There is a good chance that when a child takes his or her first step onto a baseball field in PEI, his mother or father has done the same on that same field.”
That first step for many players comes in the Rally Cap program which continues to grow across the province.
Although Smith is still getting his feet wet as Executive Director, he is fully aware of the benefits of Rally Cap and the success it has had in associations who have already implemented the program into their development systems.
“Feedback that I have heard from the past is that the children who attend really enjoy Rally Cap and because of this registration has increased significantly from one year to the next,” said Smith. “Coaches love the program and how it is delivered.
“The program is set up so that every child has an opportunity and at that age that is the most important part, getting an opportunity.”
An event to look forward to this summer is when the Toronto Blue Jays come to town with a Honda Super Camp at Victoria Park in Charlottetown August 8-10.
Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar will be in attendance as an instructor along with former Blue Jays Juan Beniquez, Homer Bush and Duane Ward.
For registration information, please click HERE.
“The province of PEI is most looking forward to the progression of our organization as a whole,” added Smith. “This includes more kids playing baseball as well as the brand of Baseball PEI becoming stronger.”
For more information on Baseball PEI, please visit www.baseballpei.ca
