Baseball Manitoba President Ken Sharpe

The sport has to change with the times in order to attract more youth to the game. That from Ken Sharpe, President of Baseball Manitoba. He readily admits baseball is a difficult sport to learn, and with so many activity options available, they have to find ways to keep kids interested and feeling good about playing.

He says an example of what Baseball Manitoba is doing to attract new participants is a Mosquito level (9, 10, and 11 year olds) tournament held earlier this year in Dauphin. The tournament was played without a pitcher, and a pitching machine was used instead. Sharpe says everyone got to hit, and it was a great way to introduce the game. He notes the best part about baseball is hitting, and if a young player isn't having success at the plate they quickly become frustrated and lose interest in the game.

Sharpe says another great entry level program they have is the Rally Cap Program. The Rally Cap program is aimed at 4 - 7 to seven year olds, and involves three teams of six players that meet at the park at the same time. Two teams play a 20 minute game, while one team practices in the outfield. Every 20 minutes they switch, so that each team plays two games and has one practice in the 60 minutes session.

He adds another thing they need to do is find ways of getting feedback from younger players who have quit the game.

Sharpe says the bottom line is they have to be prepared to change the sport, especially up to the age of 12, in order to get youth playing baseball.