Baseball: The Universal Language

Coach Lia Roque introduced her passion to players and parents at the 7U and 8U levels. Coach Lia's legacy will stay with North York for generations.

An important fixture on Diamond Five, Coach Lia will be fondly remembered and deeply missed.  We asked her to share her thoughts before she leaves.

I remember the first time I went to Bond park for my interview for the head coach position for the 7U developmental team like it was yesterday. It was my first time to see Bond park and the moment I walked through the path between baseball fields I thought to myself this is like a secret garden for baseball lovers. I met up with Jeff and Coach Steve and they explained that NYBA wanted to start a 7U developmental team. I think the interview went well because I was not only given the chance to coach the 7U team but asked to coach the 8UAAA team as well and I was so happy to say yes to both roles.

I was nervous during our interview because as an Asian woman from the GenX generation, I thought I wouldn’t get the position but as we were going through the interview, I felt that we shared the same language: a deep passion for baseball. We talked about player development and team dynamics. I soon found out that coach Steve was looking for a replacement. He is a legend in North York and loved his role and made sure he was passing it on to someone with the same enthusiasm. I knew exactly what they were saying and they knew I understood what they wanted. A language only baseball lovers can understand. Coaching in North York was the perfect baseball organization for me as we have the same philosophy of focusing on the player’s experience in the team, emphasizing on fun and to develop the love for baseball. 

Coaching the 7U developmental team and 8UAAA team for 3 years was a wonderful and unforgettable experience for me. I had very good players, wonderful parents and most importantly the best volunteer coach and parent coaches. The players were enthusiastically listening and participating and the parents were my extra coaches as they made sure the players came on time and encouraged them to go to each practice. Seeing the players learn to catch and field properly from not hitting any balls from the pitching machine to being confident on contact and hitting their first homer off the fence has been the most fulfilling experience. Winning was a bonus but seeing them loving the sport and still joining the next year was the ultimate win for me. When parents tell me that baseball now ranks number 1 on the sports they play through out the year, definitely melted my heart. 

North York Baseball Assoc. does not only make the experience unforgettable for the players but they make sure the coaches are supported and the parents are considered on the organization’s decision making. I would like to say thank you for Coach Steve for trusting me for the coaching role and to support me through the transition to coach for NYBA. Thank you North York Blues for always reminding the coaches that you are always available for any concern that comes up. Thank you to the grounds crew on making the playing field always ready for games. Thank you so much for developing our umpires on having professional demeanour on every game. 

I have decided to end my journey as head coach for the North York Blues for now because I was inspired by the player’s eagerness to play. I will be going back to playing softball. This is not a goodbye to baseball because I will still be doing private training and help players’ develop individually. I am just going back to playing while my body is still allowing me to play. A tough decision for me but I know NYBA understands my love language for baseball and softball.

North York Baseball Association is committed to providing baseball to boys and girls
between the ages of 6-17 at the recreational and competitive levels.

NYBA provides high-quality training facilities and tools for its players and teams.

Located at Bond Park, NYBA professionally maintains 5 baseball diamonds (1 is full MLB regulation size);
two full-size professionally turfed batting cages; multiple pitching machines; professional L/screens
and an accessible club house with a fully-equipped weight training room, wash/change rooms.