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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 30, 2009 - 39 Little League to develop coaches Make way Oakville Little League has adopted a newly-created coaching development program to help train its volunteer coaches for the upcoming season. The program, called the Little League Baseball Online Coach Resource Center, is designed to enhance coaches' instructional and teaching skills. "It is one of our league objectives to provide more development opportunities for our volunteer coaches," said Oakville Little League president John Sweeney. "The intent is to give all our coaches the knowledge and confidence to succeed as coaches." Little League International, the largest youth sports organization in the world, created the program based on its 70 years of experience developing citizenship, discipline, teamwork and physical well-being through youth baseball. "From the get-go, we wanted an effective training resource," Sweeney said. "Upon evaluating this outstanding coaching tool set, we realized this was much more than a hitting and fielding video. It also includes tools to develop the interpersonal relationships between coaches, players, parents and officials. The information is presented so it can be effectively learned and is much more than anything Oakville Little League could have developed on our own." The program is an Internet-based multimedia training tool designed for volunteers working with players from age six to 12, which is Tee Ball through to Major divisions in Little League. The majority of coaches begin coaching at these levels and are more frequently in search of ideas and guidance on how to run a practice, teach the game and manage a team. "At these levels, coaches make the most impact on players, and we felt this is where we should also build a foundation in the area of coaching development," said Oakville Little League vice-president of baseball operations John Mooney. The Little League Online Coach Resource Centre provides volunteers with instant access to all information in the database. Within each segment of the program, there is a comprehensive combination of interactive text, video and animations. The information is easy to share via e-mail and also in printer-friendly versions. Little League International has said it is committed to refreshing the information on an ongoing basis. Oakville Little League will hold a registration session Saturday, Feb. 7 at its fieldhouse on Cornwall Rd., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration for the upcoming season can also be done online at www.ollb.org. CUP OF HOPE FINALISTS: St. Bernadette's Emma Newman (left) holds out her arm as she dribbles down the court while St. Gabriel's Andrea Cordasco looks on during St. James School's annual Cup of Hope elementary school basketball tournament. St. Gabriel downed St. Bernadette 147 in the girls' final, played Tuesday, after St. Bernadette won the boys' title the previous day with a 29-28 victory over Sacred Heart of Jesus. The tournament raised $3,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society, surpassing last year's total. MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER BURLINGTON MINOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION www.burlingtonminorfootball.ca THE BEST FOOTBALL IN HALTON! Proud Supporter of Canadian Football! Summer Varsity, JV & Peewee Stampeders (Ages 13-20) Spring Flag (Ages 6-16) Fall House League Tackle (Ages 6-14) Fall Stampeders (Ages 9-14) In-Person Registration Dates: WINGING IT WITH THE PM: After finishing second in their division at the Bell Capital Cup tournament, the Oakville peewee red Wings were joined in their dressing room by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (back, centre). Saturday, January 31 - 10:00 - 4:00 Sunday, February 1 - 10:00 - 4:00 Saturday, February 7 - 10:00 - 4:00 Sunday, February 8 - 10:00 - 4:00 Peewee Wings meet prime minister The Oakville peewee red Wings reached the peewee house A division final of the recent Bell Capital Cup tournament in Ottawa, but that might not even have been the highlight of their weekend. Following their 2-1 loss to the St. Laurent Senators in the gold-medal game, Oakville players and coaches were joined in their dressing room by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper's son, Ben, had scored the deciding goal of the championship game, breaking a 1-1 deadlock in the third period. Oakville won its first five games of the tournament, three of them in shutout fashion. The Wings defeated the Nepean Icebergs 3-2, Cumberland Hawks 2-1 and Les Draveurs de Gatineau 6-0 in roundrobin play, then downed the Leitrim Hawks 3-0 in the quarter-finals before edging the Ottawa Capitals 1-0 in the semis. Oakville goalie Thomas Hammond recorded the three consecutive shutouts. Carter Saunders and Brendan Dickie led the Wings in scoring during the round robin (five and four points, respectively), while Logan Beattie had a goal and an assist against Leitrim to earn game MVP honours. Dickie had the lone goal in Oakville's semifinal victory. Other members of the team are Andrew Giles, Scott Mitchell, Jackson Scarrow, Christian Clancy, Perry Griffin, William Morgan, Jonathan Moate, Griffin Dando, Justin Polgar, Daniel Ohorodnyk, Michael Fallon and Taylor Kurc. Brent Scarrow, Rick Polgar and Dave Fallon coach the team. Dave Hammond is the trainer and Ann Giles is the manager. Place: Burlington Senior's Centre 2285 New Street (in Central Park) Burlington, ON, L7R 1J4 All of our programs are open to Boys and Girls! No Experience Necessary! All Equipment Provided except for Football Cleats! Cash, Credit Cards and Cheques Accepted If you are new to B.M.F.A., please bring proof of age Bring your Camera and Take your Picture with the Grey Cup! The Canadian Football Hall of Fame will be at the registrations from 10-2 (except Feb. 7). They will also have merchandise for sale! Registration Forms can be downloaded from our Website and mailed in! Additional In-person Registrations will be held! Dates and Times TBA Questions? Please e-mail the Registrar at JJMA@cogeco.ca