Redbacks hope second diamond will boost sport (From Echo)

Redbacks hope second diamond will boost sport

4:10pm Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Other Sport By Frazer Clark

THE Essex Redbacks baseball team are looking to develop and strengthen their grassroots in Billericay.

The club are building a new baseball diamond at Forest Glade Football Club at Barleylands.

Redbacks — whose junior teams play under the Forest Glade Redback banner — already have one diamond at Barleylands, and are now marking up another to allow more teenage players to play simultaneously.

Club stalwart Michael Jones said: “We’re building a second diamond so we’ll now be able to offer baseball to people of all ages in Billericay.

“We’ll be moving our youth teams completely to the ground.

“We will begin building a new adult-sized baseball diamond at Barleylands home with help from Forest Glade Football Club, meaning both junior and senior baseball can be played at the Billericay ground.

“It means the Redbacks Ponies, our under-17 side, can train and play their games at the same venue as the younger Bronco U14 team,” he added.

Permission was granted by the Forest Glade committee to start work on the full-size diamond, following a presentation by the Redbacks’ sponsorship and fundraising manager, Bill Sedgwick.

Sedgwick said: “It’s great that we’ve been able to develop the field at Forest Glade Football Club.

“All the junior teams will now be able to train and play their games here, as well as introducing senior baseball to Billericay, which we hope will enhance our stature in the community and our ability to grow and develop baseball in the area.

“We look forward to starting work on the construction in March and need as many volunteers as possible to complete it before the start of the season.

“The football club have shown great vision in increasing the amount of sport offered to people in the area who might not necessarily be interested in football, while offering their members a summer sport to keep them active around the club.”

The junior section has built on strong foundations to ensure the club hits the ground running in 2012.

The Ponies are looking forward to playing their home games at Forest Glade on the new full-size diamond, while the Broncos will be hoping to beat their third place finish at the National Youth Baseball Championships last time around.

Senior training took place on Friday at Chelmsford Sports & Athletics Centre in Melbourne Park.

The junior section trains at at James Hornby High School, Laindon, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Saturdays.

For more information, contact Sean Briscomb at: sean@essexredbacks.com or visit www.essexredbacks.com