ST. PAUL - When she found out she had won a provincial Baseball Alberta award, Angela Noel says it came as a surprise.
Noel was named the Off-Field Manager of the Year in the 'A' category.
Later on, she found out that it was coaching staff and other volunteers with St. Paul Minor Ball, along with a few parents, who nominated her. In the 2022 season, Noel managed the 13U 'A' baseball team in St. Paul and was also an integral part of the community hosting baseball provincials for a handful of age groups in July.
When she opened the email notifying her of the award, she admits she had to read it more than once, "because I thought I had read it wrong."
Noel says she is thankful for the group of coaches and parents "who felt that I deserved this recognition for a volunteer position that I truly enjoy doing."
Looking back on the 2022 baseball season, Noel sums it up as a success. There were multiple weekends dedicated to playing the sport, and the season wrapped up with St. Paul hosting the U11/U13/U15 Provincial 'A' Championships, which allowed an opportunity to showcase St. Paul and the local minor ball association.
When asked to describe the job of an off-field manager, Noel says being organized is key. Managers book games, arrange accommodations, communicate information to the team, and work closely with coaches.
"Baseball can have a lot of statistics to manage and rules to follow, so the off-field manager typically knows the rule book and helps the coaches before, during, and after the games with information such as pitch count, catcher eligibility, and scorekeeping," says Noel.
As an assistant principal at St. Paul Regional High School, Noel works with youth daily. She believes that young people learn important life skills when they are involved with sports and knows firsthand that athletic programs do not run without volunteers.
"Over the years, my kids have been involved in multiple sports and their coaches, managers, tournament coordinators have all been volunteers. Our family truly appreciates all of the volunteers that have dedicated countless hours to running athletic programs for our kids and I am more than happy to volunteer time to help them with these programs," says Noel.
When it comes to the recent award, she gives credit to the many other people who helped throughout the ball season, in a variety of ways.
"Our kids had an amazing season this year because everyone worked together to make it great," said Noel.
