The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

JUST before the best-of-seven championship series is completed, the New Providence Softball Association will take the time to honour six of its former and present managers and coaches.

The NPSA has planned an awards recognition for Thursday night at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex in between the ladies’ opening game between the pennant winning Proper Care Pool Lady Sharks and the Sigma Brackettes at 7pm and the men’s feature contest at 8:30pm featuring the pennant winning Arnette’s Sporting Lounge Hitmen and the Andre Gardiner Construction Buccaneers.

LIST OF HONOUREES

• Sammy Heastie, former manager of the defuncted TJ’s Three Cay Swingers

• Spurgeon Johnson, former coach of the Swingers, now working with the Lady Sharks

• Perry Seymour, manager of the defuncted Truckers

• Martin ‘Pork’ Burrows, former manager of New Breed and now an umpire in the league

• Anthony Bullard, a long-time coach now manager of the Sigma Brackettes

• Stephen ‘Bishop’ Beneby, a former umpire in the league, who has formed and is now managing Proper Care Pool.

NPSA president Godfrey ‘Gully’ Burnside said this is just their way of saying thanks to those persons who have had an impact on the growth and development of the league in the past.

“Everytime that I’ve been the president, I always wanted to take the time out to recognise those persons that have been with us for the many years and to honour and recognise them for the contribution that they have made to our sport,” Burnside said. “So we have decided to honour these long-time serving managers and coaches, who have been there for some 20-30 years.”

While the NPSA has honoured some of the managers and coaches in the past, Burnside said they overlooked Heastie, who has helped the Swingers to win numerous titles, along with Spurgeon Johnson as his coach.

“At one time, they formed one of the best coaching staffs in the league,” Burnside said.

Seymour, according to Burnside, has not only been a veteran player, but he moved up to become a coach and was the manager of the Budweiser Eagles, who eventually became the Truckers up until this year when they opted not to compete due to Seymour’s illness.

As for Martin, Burnside said the former executive has worked with the junior development programme for the past 20 years and he’s still making a contribution as well as now serving as one of the new umpires in the league this year.

Beneby, Burside noted, has been around as an umpire and is now a manager who has been working with the development of the ladies’ programme, introducing a number of young players in the league.

And Burnside said Bullard has been in the forefront of the Wildcats from their inception and he is still on the team as the manager.

“We just want to honour and recognise these persons for the roles that they have played in the development of the sport,” Burnside said.

He noted that they will hold an awards ceremony in between the two games on Thursday. It’s expected that either Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson or Senator Greg Burrows will be on hand to make the plaque presentations to the honourees.