Baseball SA, Sammy D Foundation team up to stamp out sideline bullying

Bad attitudes on the sidelines bleed onto the pitch, parents have been warned, as an anti-bullying campaigners branch out from footy.

Jett Harris from the Henley and Grange Rams and Alice Brown from the Woodville Senators at West Beach. Picture: Brenton Edwards

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Parents and kids at local Aussie rules clubs have embraced it in seasons past and now it is the turn of the state’s young baseballers.

The Sammy D Foundation is joining forces with Baseball SA to roll out a program aimed at changing players’ attitudes toward bullying and violence and stamping out any inappropriate sideline behaviour by their parents.

Players and parents from Baseball SA’s 14 metropolitan clubs — including Jett Harris from the Henley and Grange Rams and Alice Brown from the Woodville Senators — will hear from specially trained facilitators.

Charity founder Neil Davis, who lost his sports-loving son Sam to a violent and unprovoked one-punch assault, will address groups as part of the “Monkey See Monkey Do” program.

Foundation general manager Brigid Koenig said her group was looking forward to helping educate community baseball groups over the next six months.

“We are excited about the opportunity of working alongside Baseball SA to assist in reinforcing what it means to have a healthy club culture,” she said.

“We know this program is effective, with 98 per cent of participants reporting they felt confident in making safe and positive choices and 89 per cent reporting they did not get involved in a violent situation because of the information they were given.”

Junior baseballers Jett Harris and Alice Brown celebrate the new partnership with Sammy D Foundation general manager Brigid Koenig and Baseball SA general manager Sarah Kelly. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Baseball SA General Manager Sarah Kelly said that new partnership provided a great opportunity for her organisation to become a “cultural leader and drive real behaviour change on and off the field”.

“The work that the Sammy D Foundation is doing to bring awareness of a range of social issues to all sporting clubs is outstanding and we are looking forward to educating all our Baseball SA members on bullying and violence prevention,” she said.

“This program will be instrumental in ensuring that our community members support one another and call out poor behaviour both on and off the field.

“We as a community will work toward stamping out negative behaviours and show our members that they have a voice and they can make a difference”

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