To our Bengals Family,
It’s been too long since we’ve all been able to get together
and enjoy the game of baseball. Navigating through this global pandemic has
been tough on many, and if you’re like me, losing the 2020 OHMBA season is
something that I would just as soon like to forget.
For those that are unaware, the 2019 season was a year of transition for Orangeville & Headwaters Minor Baseball, as long time President Dave Parsons retired, and we were excited to hit the ground running in 2020 with a vision to move the league and game of baseball forward for the Orangeville & Headwaters community. We have a vision for Orangeville Bengals Baseball to become part of the culture of the Orangeville & Headwaters community, and we look forward to working with all of you to make that vision a reality.
Online registration for the 2021 season is set to open on (or before) March 1st. While we still await some direction from our governing bodies as to exactly what the 2021 season will look like, we are working through matters with the focus and plan to play baseball in 2021. We have some exciting things in store for 2021 and beyond, and over the course of the next few weeks we’ll be sharing some of those developments through our website and social media pages. I’d like to take a moment to highlight some of the initiatives being undertaken:
- Introduction of a Player Development Committee, focused on improving the experience for our players and coaches alike. Our new Player Development Committee is made up of some ex-OHMBA players, as well as some others who played baseball at the College and Semi-Pro level. They’ll be focused on developing fun and challenging practice plans for our different age groups, in an effort to support our amazing volunteer coaches. They’ll also be available throughout the season to provide support for practices and clinics that we have planned. Stay tuned for an upcoming article on our Player Development Committee Members.
- Ready2Roar Campaign. We’re planning a campaign to show just what Orangeville and Headwaters Minor Baseball is all about, and to highlight just how much fun our game of baseball is. As we get #Ready2Roar as an organization, we’ll be reaching out to our membership for content to help promote our game through some videos that will be put together. This is a fun initiative to showcase Bengals Baseball, and we’ll have more information coming out about this soon.
- Bengals SWAG. We’ve recently aligned with local business Dufferin Apparel to offer Orangeville Bengals swag, fanwear, decals and more. Dufferin Apparel will be putting together an online store, as well as offering items in their storefront. We want to see the Bengals all over town, and we’re excited to provide this offering. More info to come…
- Improving Our Fields and Facilities. For years the OHMBA has invested league funds to help maintain and improve our fields, and in 2020 a lot of work was put in to identify field improvements as a key part of the Town of Orangeville’s 10-year Parks & Rec Master Plan. We’ve taken steps to work in partnership with not only Town Operations, but also to align with the other baseball/softball/slo-pitch organizations that utilize town fields. There is still much work to do in this area, but we look forward to sharing developments with all of you as things progress.
The above items are just a snapshot of what we have planned for the OHMBA. We hope you are as excited as we are to get back to playing baseball, and we look forward to seeing everyone out on the fields when the spring arrives. As your OHMBA President, I firmly believe that we have such an amazing opportunity to make Orangeville and Headwaters Minor Baseball Association a premier baseball organization that we can all be proud of. There is so much that we can accomplish, together, and I hope you’ll join us in taking OHMBA to the next level.
Yours in baseball,
Jesse M. Edmunds
Orangeville & Headwaters Minor Baseball Association
President