TC Media file photo
Darrin O’Quinn believes the growth in numbers in the local minor baseball association has led to a stronger need for people to help with the program moving forward.
The association saw its registration numbers rise from 275 to 460 players, including 121 female players, during the 2016 baseball season.
“Jubilee Field was booked from sun up to sun down six days a week,” president Darrin O’Quinn said Wednesday.
O’Quinn said the executive was blown away with the spike in numbers. They really didn’t see it coming so there was no way to plan for it. When you have that kind of growth in such a short season it’s tough to reel it all in, so you just forged ahead, said O’Quinn.
“Once the season starts, it is what it is. You just got to get to the finish line and that’s where we got this year,” he said.
While people were all smiles with the boost in numbers, unfortunately for the association the volunteer base didn’t grow so it meant a lot of long hours for those who did spend a fair bit of time in a volunteer role.
More volunteer help is something O’Quinn believes will be high on the priority list for the association moving forward.
“It wasn’t without a fair bit of stress on the people who were driving it,” O’Quinn said of a crazy busy summer that saw some teams have success on the provincial level in both male and female divisions.
