Baseball in Corner Brook has seen steady growth over the past few years with a minor system grooming players for the future.
Soccer has seen the same growth, with a minor program keeping soccer pitches busy from daylight to dark.
Chris Walters would like broomball to experience the same boost in numbers, but he knows without new faces getting involved in the sport then growth will be stunted.
Walters is a seasoned broomball player who hasn’t had any luck getting youth involved in the sport over the past few years.
He admits it’s been tough getting the word out to the public and finds it challenging to recruit new players when today’s youth have so many things on their plate at the one time.
Walters, in his role as chairperson of broomball development with the Corner Brook Molson Broomball Association, is going to take one more kick at the can in his effort to bring new life to the sport in the city.
He’s taking the lead role on offering a 10-week program for boys and girls, women who want to play and guys who may be interested in checking out the sport for the first time.
The program, which will take place at the Corner Brook Civic Centre will get underway Monday, Nov. 20 with 7:30-8:30 p.m. the designated time for newbies to get introduced to the sport, learn some of the rules and learn some of the skills required to play the game.
He is hoping to get 20 or so new players on the ice because it’s a great number to work with and there is potential for playing games with decent numbers so players will stay interested in the sport. He also thinks there is a unique opportunity for athletes new to the sport to play in provincial and national tournaments in broomball than any other sport in the city.
“Where the numbers aren’t there it provides more opportunities for youth,” Walters said.
He’s hoping this year will be the year the numbers rise because the league has booked a prime time ice slots and he’s not sure if it won’t be given to another user group if something positive doesn’t come out of it this winter.
He’s hoping the registration fee for the program will include a broom and pair of shoes for everybody who does so and he’s putting out the welcome mat to anybody who has an interest in finding out more about the sport. Anybody who wants more information on the program can contact Walters at 785-2697.
