Eric Stickney
A baseball clinic where local kids can learn the game and practice their batting will open this fall over Original’s Ale House at 1660 Bayview Ave north of Manor Road. It is the work of Eric Stickney, the youthful athletic director of the Leaside Baseball Association. Stickney, 29, is especially excited about training potential of the inside baseball cage which will be installed in the clinic. The Leaside native has been instrumental in the revival of baseball in the area. He re-established the Rookieball program in 2011 and shortly after brought the Leaside Leafs name back to prominence. It was a re-invigoration of a tradition dating back to he 1960s which had fallen on hard times. Mr. Stickney is a business graduate Guelph University and seems to eat, sleep and mostly live baseball. “I pretty much just sleep and do baseball,” he said. From April to September it is a 13 and a half hour day of planning, recruiting and coaching, both in practice and during the games.
ENERGY, COMMITTMENT
Stickney’s energy and commitment has driven the growth of the Leaside association into a dynamic part of Ontario’s large baseball network of volunteer coaches. Kids’ baseball throughout the province is administered by the Ontario Baseball Association, a body created by public-spirited parents. It is entirely unofficial and depends on the goodwill and interest of the those who love the game and want see their children learn from it. As well, of course, as create a lot of fun and socializing.
