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Tinian BCO certification courses set in March
Tony Rogolifoi has moved the Baseball Confederation of Oceania coaches and umpires certification courses to mid March after getting tied up with his other obligations in some organizations he leads.
Rogolifoi is a BCO-certified coaches and umpires instructor aside from being the Saipan Baseball League coordinator and the Northern Marianas Sports Association executive director. Rogolifoi was also assigned by BCO developmental officer Ray Brown to head the sport’s development in the Micronesian region.
He was set to conduct the certification courses on Tinian last week but had to cancel them.
“The certification courses are tentatively set in mid March since I need to finish other matters here. The clinic will push through since it is only a matter of scheduling problems. I’m expecting 20 or more who are interested to get certified,” added Rogolifoi.
He said that he would be conducting classes similar to the ones he had on Rota.
“Coaching is very complicated and it is not that easy. It’s the same thing with umpiring. You need to know the basic rules before moving on. There will be two parts, classroom discussion of the rules and after that application. There would also be a test made up of 100 questions to see their basic knowledge of baseball rules,” Rogolifoi said.
He added the eight newly certified umpires and coaches on Rota now have better understanding of the basic rules and are ready to apply what they have learned in their upcoming Little League season.
“They ask questions if things are not that clear. Knowledge of the rules is necessary to avoid any protest and other problems that might happen in the game. It’s much better if one is knowledgeable both in coaching and umpiring,” the SBL official explained.
Rogolifoi’s certification courses are in line with the opening of the Little League season on Rota and Tinian. He will conduct the same courses on Saipan as he aims to help the CNMI baseball program produce more coaches and umpires.
For more information on the BCO certification courses, call Rogolifoi at 234-6672.
