More Than Just Community

I would like to start off my entry with a quote by Vince Lombardi, “We will build this team in pursuit of perfection knowing we can never achieve it … in the meantime we will achieve excellence.”

   The Bridgewater Baseball Association is a proactive community. The association initiates change rather than reflecting on the past.  We sacrifice the interests of each other and revolve around the interests of the community as a whole. Our values never change – to create a unified community which everyone can enjoy. We must create an environment which everyone from all different ages can relate to. To feel comfortable knowing they have a say and to understand that we will listen. Our initiative is to create leaders on and off the baseball field. The priority isn’t solely on developing each individual’s athletic abilities. The development of each child as an individual is our primary goal. Yes, the memories associated with winning championships last a life time, but their attitude and integrity shown off the field highlight their true character.  

      After a conversation with the VP of the Bridgewater Baseball Association, Dennis Woodworth, Dennis referred to our community as one that embodies the T.E.A.M. concept. T – Together, in order for a community to be successful everyone must work together in order to find success. The baseball community strives for long term success, to see beyond their years as a member of this community and prepare those coming up with a solid foundation. E- Everyone, everyone must be on board. Everyone must have a say, this proves very difficult because when viewing a community we tend to forget everyone and just see ourselves. A- Achievement, achievement can be viewed in many ways. The community must create goals in order to view one’s achievements. Achievements are very important because they identify the community’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, how did we achieve this goal, or why didn’t we achieve it and how can we? M- More, because everyone has more to give. Everyone contributes one way or another, even in an indirect way. There are many aspects of community that need to be accomplished, big or small.

    Ideally everyone would show their support in community events. Although I have emotional ties to the baseball community, there are many other equally deserving communities in Bridgewater. We must realize that everyone from each community can come together to share their ideas openly. Successes and failures happen – that is life, but it’s how fast we bounce back that matters.  

  I started my entry with a quote – Vince Lombardi is known as football’s greatest coach. He was referring to his football successes; however it was much more than that. It relates to community development in every aspect. In order to succeed one must realize that not everything will be perfect. There will be many ups and downs, but it is how we grow and evolve as a community that direct us towards perfection.     

The Bridgewater Baseball Community

    I grew up in a small town in Nova Scotia called Bridgewater – population of roughly nine thousand. If you are wondering if it is called Bridgewater because there is a bridge over water, then yes, you are correct.  Bridgewater is a very strong community in terms of development. It has expanded rapidly over the past ten years. More companies create more job offerings which cause families to reside either in Bridgewater or close by. It is a very close community. Bridgewater takes pride in letting everyone know that they have a say and encourages those who feel strongly about something to get the word out.  More specifically, Bridgewater revolves around Sport. Sport has brought Bridgewater a lot in terms of tourism, and publicity. We recently brought a Jr.A hockey team to Bridgewater in which are sold out every game. Our high school sports are developing more athletes that will one day play at the next level whether it is in the US or in Canada. The community that I am most involved with is the baseball community, most notably the Bridgewater Baseball Association.

      I have played baseball in Bridgewater since the age of five. I have been apart of many great teams, I have played with many great players, but what makes the players and teams great is the association itself. In 2003, Bridgewater Baseball had a falling out with some members of the association. The aftermath left the BBA bankrupt. It was a sad day in our community, especially for all those volunteers who were really the reason why we had so much success in the first place. It was up to parents, players, and volunteers, to make the Bridgewater Baseball Association better than ever and to overcome the past and look towards the future. Now in 2011, we are better and stronger than ever. There is a board of directors in which takes anyone who wants to be heard and believes they have way it takes to create a stronger association, creating a stronger community. The baseball community is absolutely on the right track.

     For the past five years, I have been working for the Bridgewater Baseball Association as an instructor for the house league program. This program was developed to not only work on the athlete’s skills but to create better individuals. It is necessary to understand that these kids see you as a role model and for them to play a significant role in their community  all starts when they step foot on the ball field. I am here in Calgary to play baseball for the University of Calgary. I am not here just for myself; I am here to learn so I can share what I have learned with the players at home.  To be viewed upon the community as an individual who will one day play an even more important role in the association.

    In order for a community to be successful means there needs to be leaders and followers. It is vivid who are the leaders and followers in my community but what makes the baseball community so strong is the identification of each person’s role. One needs to realize that even if you are a leader or a follower that everyone plays a role that benefits the community as a whole. The successes and failures have made us stronger and I am proud to say that I have been apart of this community basically my entire life.

 2009 - Myself on the right with a broken ankle, next to some future Major Leaguers.

Invictus

How does the movie Invictus relate to recreation and community development? Well, this movie has it all.

     Nelson Mandela’s idea to use sport in order to develop a stronger community worked wonders for South Africa. First off, not only did sport bring a struggling community together but it brought hope to all those who did not believe that South Africa could turn things around for the better. This not only brought a community together, this brought an entire country together. This was not about winning the World Cup – of course it helped but it was about much more than that. Despite if they won or not, winning wasn’t their objective. Their objective was to create a country where despite if one is black or white that not only did everyone have equal rights but that everyone believed they deserved them. The right to feel comfortable in ones skin in a place where many people could not before.

      Nelson Mandela’s idea to use sport to bring people together is in a way, very simplistic. We have all watched those movies where a small community wins a championship game and the community’s struggles seem to go away. In this case, creating a better community was the main objective – the Springboks could have lost in the quarterfinals. I believe that despite of the outcome, the rugby team had to demonstrate to the rest of the country that hard work and having a positive outlook develops stronger aspirations. If a struggling rugby team could have success than why couldn’t a country? It does sound quite farfetched but it worked. Sport has that effect on people and Mr. Mandela used that to his advantage.

       In conclusion, Invictus demonstrated that sport is much more than we give it credit for. It is responsible for the ups and downs in our community. It brings out the best and the worst in people demonstrating that in the whole grand scheme of things that winning isn’t everything (although they still won.)

 

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

 

First Post - Fun Days Out: Normalising Social Experiences for Refugee Children.

Hello everyone, first off - welcome to my first ever blog entry.

      I chose the article, " Fun Days Out: Normalizing Social Experiences for Refugee Children." It was a very eye opening article on how many children are traumatized each day by what they experience in some African countries. The program was developed by Flinder's University School of Social Administration and Social Work and was established by the Loss and Grief Centre in Adelaide, South Australia.
       The creators of this program believed that populations of people are overlooked in terms of how each individual deals with a loss, grief, or trauma. The program believed that through arts, drama, and sport, along with many other activities that they could indeed change the lives of many children. Their goal was to rehabilitate these children so that one day they could play a significant role in contributing to the community development of their hometown.  
      This article relates to aspects of community recreation development in several ways. It is helping children through sport in order to build their self-confidence, to finally realize that life has more to offer than what they originally had in mind. It creates relationships that these children will cherish for the rest of their lives. What is different about this type of community development is that the program was created in order to help the children one day help those who were in the same situation. Their long term goal is to one day build a better community in their hometowns in Africa whether they focus on sport or something else.
     In order for this program to work, the Loss and Grief Centre need volunteers. The average number of children participating in the program each day has increased from 30 to 80 children in five years. The Centre now has roughly 50 volunteers but just like any other community development program they need more. The program is rapidly developing making life better for more and more children every day.
    I hope you enjoyed my first entry – the more comments the better.

-Mark Phillips







Link: http://library.mtroyal.ca:2058/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=107&sid=fb667304-8af7-41b7-be0b-2d9bf6a8acb7%40sessionmgr115&vid=5