Dickson cherishes winning title in Brandon

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This article was published 25/10/2022 (1318 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jason Dickson wasn’t likely to top his last trip to Brandon when the chief executive officer of Baseball Canada returned on the weekend.

Dickson, 49, was part of the Canadian squad that won gold at the World Youth Baseball Championships in Brandon in 1991, a feat that remains unmatched in Baseball Canada history.

“I’m not sure I’ve been back since 1991 so that goes back quite a few years,” Dickson said. “Obviously it was a big part of my career and one of the first big events playing in front of some big crowds in front of the home country.

“It was a very good group of guys who were fortunate to win that year and it hasn’t been repeated since — we’re still working on it — but it’s very fond memories. I still talk to a lot of those guys. It was an amazing time.”

Part of what made it special was the reception the team was greeted with for each of its games at Andrews Field, which was then known as Westbran Stadium after opening in 1987. In the final, Canada defeated Chinese Taipei 5-2 in front of 5,000 fans.

“You talk about home-field advantage and understanding what the home crowd is, but I don’t think we really got it,” Dickson said. “The crowds were huge, comparative to an 18-year-old from a small town, and cheering us on. It was the first time they knew your name. The energy of it, it was awesome. It was such an experience.”

In 2014, Baseball Canada voted the championship in Brandon the top moment in its then 50-year history.

Dickson certainly played a lot of baseball after 1991.

He was born in London, Ont., but raised in Miramichi, N.B., and attended the National Baseball Institute in Vancouver and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. He was drafted by Major League Baseball’s California Angels in 1994 and spent parts of four seasons with the Angels during a 10-year professional career, making an appearance in the 1997 All-Star Game.

He finished up his playing career by rejoining the national team for the 2004 Olympics in Greece. Since then, he has worked with Baseball New Brunswick, Sport New Brunswick, Mill Cove Nursing Home in Mill Cove and the YMCA of Fredericton.

Dickson previously served on Baseball Canada’s executive as vice president from 2010 until he was acclaimed as president in 2016. Chris Balison was elected the new president in January because Dickson was named CEO on July 8, 2021, replacing the retiring executive director, Jim Baba.

Dickson was in Brandon for Baseball Manitoba’s weekend of activities that included its annual awards ceremony on Saturday and its annual general meeting on Sunday.

As a New Brunswick product, Dickson understands what it’s like to grow up outside the sport’s traditional provincial powerhouses in British Columbia and Ontario. He’s grown to appreciate what Manitoba has been able to achieve.

On a competitive level, he noted it’s not easy to run with the big dogs at national events.

“I think they’re doing a fantastic job,” Dickson said. “It becomes a numbers game sometimes. If you have more population, you have more players to choose from or more players who choose to play your sport and not play another sport. That’s always an advantage in the bigger provinces.

“I think Manitoba, similar to New Brunswick, you’re fighting weather a little bit more than the others are but the good part is, you understand what the conditions are and work with them and have a greater sense that your winter program has to be stronger to get as far as you can, so that when the fields open up, you kind of hit it somewhat in shape and try to build.

“I think they do a great job, and again that starts with the grassroots programs and getting it out to the kids and introducing them to the game and then keep them competitive.”

He noted Manitoba has also done very well with girls baseball, hosting nationals.

Like all sports, baseball finds itself trying to regain its footing after the pandemic had a massive impact across the country.

Baseball Manitoba’s Jason Miller said in June the sport was at 90 per cent registration of what it had in 2019. That number was closer to 50 per cent in 2020 and 2021.

Dickson said that mirrored trends across the country, although the ability to claw back has varied by jurisdiction.

“Everyone is at a different stage in that rebound,” Dickson said. “Specific to Manitoba, I think it rebounded quite well … I know the office was really helpful in helping the local associations get some different grants as much as they could.

“It’s not the same across the country. There were different restrictions in different areas and not all provinces rebounded. That’s what we’re looking at, because pre-COVID we were really on an uptick in membership.”

Dickson noted it’s not players alone who have to return, but coaches, volunteers and officials as well. The challenge of lower registration is a familiar one for every sport. Some parents grew accustomed to less scheduling for their children and may bristle at signing them up again.

He also said getting former players back is one challenge. Another different one is reaching out to potential players whose introduction to the sport was delayed entirely.

“I think it starts with a lot of the grassroots programs and getting back to the programs and introducing them to the game the right way,” Dickson said. “It’s understanding that with a couple-year layoff, some of these kids may not have picked up some little tips and tricks on baseball and you may have to back up a step or two to play catch-up.

“I don’t think it’s really any different than it was with schools. There are two years of education that we got done but it was difficult and they’re realizing now there is some catch-up.”

It’s not just the newcomers who were affected, however. Whether it’s a Western Hockey League rookie who entered major junior with just a handful of under-18 AAA games under their belt due to the cancellation of the 2020-21 season or an elite baseball player who lost out on high level games, there’s simply no way to replace what they missed out on.

“We’re seeing the impact of that nationally but even internationally when you talk to other countries,” Dickson said. “We look at maybe the U18 teams internationally, pitching was down in Canada and across all other countries. Pitching was the one thing that was really noticeable.

“Hitters can kind of maintain and get some hitting in, but pitchers really need those reps and need the live action.”

Part of the COVID-related damage was that Baseball Canada cancelled its 2020 and 2021 national championships, so a big step forward was simply holding the events again this summer. At the same time, the two-year break almost seemed to extinguish some of the institutional memory that existed, and it took time for the organization to regain its footing.

“We tried to be as adaptable as possible and as understanding as much as we could to make it a good championship knowing that people were really struggling to find volunteers,” Dickson said. “That was the biggest thing coming back. It wasn’t just players and coaches, but the regular volunteers who we used to rely on just weren’t there coming back. “That was the biggest part for us, was understanding what was happening in each of the host provinces because restrictions were still different at varying times.”

Dickson said Baseball Canada quickly realized that some of the events might end up a little different than they once were, but ultimately, the most important thing was that kids were on the field.

“We were OK with some of that just to get the kids back out playing again,” Dickson said. So is Dickson optimistic the sport can find its way back to its 2019 numbers and beyond? He simply has to be.

“While it’s hard to measure everything that we’ve learned coming out of COVID, it’s taught us that we can adapt our sport in different ways to still deliver it,” Dickson said. “The one piece we’re really working on from Baseball Canada is we need to market the game to bring back the fun aspect. “It really helps when the (Toronto Blue) Jays have good years and get into the post-season. It’s Canada’s time and we really follow, so we have to capitalize on that, the (World Baseball Classic) is coming up next year, just some of those things that raise the interest level in baseball again.

“It really starts at the grassroots level and capturing those kids you missed for the first couple of years.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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