'I really love baseball': Kids help reconnect dad, coach to the game

'I love being outside, being at the diamond, growing the game and contributing to the game,' says local high school teacher Steve Bird Introducing his sons to baseball has been a thrill for Steve Bird, who dived right in as a coach with Barrie Minor Baseball. 'I really love baseball,' says the local high school teacher. 'I love being outside, being at the diamond, growing the game and contributing to the game.' Bird started as assistant coach seven years ago when his son, Keaton, played baseball in AA and AAA. Ultimately, Keaton decided to focus on hockey. Bird then started to work with his second son, Elliott, and put his hand up to be the head coach for the local baseball organization's 13U select team. The Barrie Minor Baseball Association (BMBA) is a not-for-profit organization run by volunteers who populate seats on its board as well on the field as umpires, coaches and team support. It accommodates a range of players from four to 22 who play on house league and competitive teams, aiming to foster passion for the sport. The BMBA fields about 30 competitive teams among the various age groups during most seasons ranging from dedicated select teams to high-performance teams. Since last year's select team moved up to the A level, this year's 13U select team – the first level of competitive play – had to start from scratch with a whole new roster of players. For the most part, the team members had never played together before. Five of the 13 team's players, who played their home games at Lampman Lane, had moved onto the competitive select team from house league. 'Even though we didn't make provincials, we had a very successful year,' says Bird, who played baseball as a child growing up in Toronto and moved to Barrie to raise his family. 'We put the team together, seeing potential from kids who have never played competitive baseball before … some of these kids flourished into pretty good baseball players.' Of all its regular season, tournament and playoff games, the team recorded 28 wins and nine losses. They came second in the York-Simcoe Baseball Association playdowns, narrowly missing out on taking the single spot available to continue onto the Ontario Baseball Association provincial championships. About half the team will be moving up to the next age level next year, but Bird expects the players to all continue playing on the competitive level. Bird himself has applied to return as coach of the 13U select team. 'For me, the primary focus is Elliott. The team that he makes is more important than the team that I coach,' says Bird. 'In a perfect world, I would like to be the head coach of the team that he's on.' But his love for the game is likely to keep Bird involved in the organization as a coach even when Elliott moves on.