INSIDE THE PARK: Preston takes BMBA reins from Stephens

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This article was published 30/05/2023 (997 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Scott Preston has found himself stepping into a pair of mighty big cleats with the Brandon Minor Baseball Association.

In February, Preston took over as the organization’s new president from Blake Stephens, who ran BMBA for more than a decade with vice-president Glen Simard.

“Him and Glen indicated they were going to step down this time last year,” Preston said. “When the annual meeting rolled around, nobody really put their hand up and I had some interest in it, because I thought they did a very good job right from the grassroots to the high performance level.

“I like the board. It’s a fair amount of work, but it’s rewarding. I just wanted to give back like they did.”

Preston originally joined the executive in 2020 just before COVID hit. He served as the under-9 co-ordinator and then took charge of the U11 division before moving into the top role.

He said the transition has been fine.

“It’s been seamless so far,” Preston said. “Glen is still involved, and he’s the Al Sellars of Hockey Brandon. He does a lot of the work behind the scenes in terms of Ramp, which is the baseball registration system, and forming teams and collecting the fees and sending out the emails.

“And Blake is still involved.”

That gives Preston someone to lean on when a parent raises a concern at the park, such as the presence of dogs, which was legalized in 2016. Stephens can explain why the decision was made and how he’s handled similar complaints.

“I can always run that past Blake if needed or he’ll offer,” Preston said. “It’s been a good transition so far. We probably still have another year before they’re both gone altogether, and then it will be a little more tricky.

“But the board is really active. We have a good team so it shouldn’t be too, too bad.”

Stephens remains on the board as past president, but has purposefully stepped back and let the new executive work through problems on its own. He said they’re fortunate to have Preston in the lead role.

“Scott is very even-keeled, he uses common sense and he’s in it for the same reason that we all are, which is to put the kids first,” Stephens said. “Scott doesn’t make any rash decisions. He always thinks things through and gets other people’s opinions. I think he’ll do wonderful and I wish him all the best.”

From one standpoint, Preston picked an excellent year to take over. The spring of 2022 was plagued by wet weather, making it difficult to get a lot of games in. This spring has been almost ideal.

“It’s been a good year for it too,” Preston said. “Last year was kind of bad actually, just weather-wise. The month of May was cold and it was brutal out there. This year it’s been pretty good weather. It’s busy four nights of the week, and there are activities Friday, Saturday and Sunday too. It’s been quite good.”

The season extends from early May to the end of June in six age groups, Rally Cap (7U), Grand Slam (9U), 11U, 13U, 15U and 18U. They are also running high performance AAA Marlins at the 13U, 15U and 18U age groups, plus AA teams that play more in the summer.

“I think it’s critically important,” Preston said of offering both house league and high performance streams. “It gives the chance to develop more kids and it extends the season for those who want it.”

Another good news story involves registration.

The rebound from plunging numbers in the COVID era began a year ago and continued this spring, with 430 players signing up.

“That’s close to the record,” Preston said. “It’s not the all-time high but it’s back to pre-pandemic levels so that’s good.”

He suggested part of the organization’s success lay in its decision during the pandemic to continue programming in non-traditional times such as July and August when provincial guidelines allowed people to gather.

Just one age group has bucked the upwards trend in numbers. The 18-and-under division is traditionally the lowest because players take on other activities such as jobs, but this summer the 15U program has also seen declining numbers.

At the same time the games are being played, the BMBA is also doing some important work off the field. They’ve unveiled a detailed strategic plan that addresses operations, communications and development, with the steps set out for achieving their goals within reasonable timelines.

“The two big things are continuity in the board and succession, and two is just to hopefully grow the sport in Brandon,” Preston said.

Stephens and Simard went out on a high last summer by hosting the provincial high school baseball championship in June, and the 18-and-under AA provincial championships, the 11U, 13U and 15U prospects jamboree and the 13U AAA and 15U AAA provincials in July.

This summer, Brandon has just one tournament, the jamboree, although it also happens to be the biggest on the provincial calendar. It will be held July 28-30.

“It’s a good event,” Preston said. “It’s huge because there are three age groups. That’s the busiest weekend of the summer but it’s important for the financial health of the organization to host that event too.”

If you were looking for Stephens during the day in summers past, there was a reasonable chance you might find him at Simplot Park, which is located on Richmond Avenue East near the Maple Leaf plant. He put countless hours in to help keep the facility up to snuff, and Preston is now finding he’s out there a lot too.

He played minor baseball in Hamiota, and said it was a priority to repay the hours put in by others before him.

“I love being out there,” Preston said. “It’s a great way to spend the summer, and there aren’t a lot of people putting up their hands to take the job and be a part of the board, like some of the other sports organizations like hockey.

“I just wanted to see it continue to grow and be the quality organization that it was under Blake and Glen’s leadership.