The Lumaris factor in softball
By THADDEUS TIRIMAN
JOE Lumaris resigned as the secretary and national coaching director of the Papua New Guinea Softball federation on February 22.
His resignation has come one month before the annual national softball championships in Port Moresby.
Until his resignation Lumaris has been very instrumental in the development of the game of softball in Papua New Guinea.
He has been a trainer, a coach, an administrator and a mentor to many young softball aspirants.
His name is familiar in the sporting circles particularly in softball and rugby league but it has been his involvement with the former that has really stood out and his desire to see the sport played at a more competitive level with emphasis put on junior and club levels has seen the improvement in the quality of players that PNG now has.
Lumaris took up the job as the secretary of the softball federation straight after the 1991 ninth South Pacific games in Port Moresby when PNG showed the world it was a force to reckon with in softball when they beat Guam for the gold medal.
He was then one of the trainers of the PNG squad. Last year he was the head coach of the PNG men and women’s team that beat American Samoa for the softball gold medals.
At the club level he is the coach/ trainer of the Airways Bears Club that went down to PNG Power 3-2 in the Digicel Port Moresby Men’s A Grade softball grand final last weekend.
Lumaris has a great vision for softball and in his time as the secretary of PNGSF has been instrumental in drawing up the constitution of the federation, the standard ground rules for the national softball championships and the federation’s corporate plan for the next five years known as the 2008-2013 Strategic Plan.
Despite these achievements Lumaris admits that most of the plans he has for the federation has not really taken off the ground due to lack of funding from the government and corporate sponsors.
One of the major achievements though was making the national softball championships an annual event again after the incentive went through a period of hibernation due to lack of sponsors. The standard ground rules were also written up and were utilized in last years Kavieng championships. The national softball championships have now reached new heights in interest and skillfulness but since most associations lack sponsors most associations will not send in their teams this year. Lack of discipline and poor sportsmanship is what he is concerned about and encourages coaches and team administrators to be mindful of their player’s attitude in and off the field.
He has some favorite coaching tips that he likes sharing.
Firstly he is a researcher. He must know everything about what he is doing. He has to know his team, his opponents and the ground and facilities he is using before he can embark on giving the right orders to his team.
He also says “it’s not always the amount of training you go through that determines whether you win or lose but it’s the recovery before every game that counts, players have to be fully recovered before playing a softball game.”
His next tip is team bonding. Every player must come to know the other player on a more personal basis.
“Learn about the other person and find out what his favorite ice cream is or his birth date and so forth.”
When asked about the possibility of a national softball league he said that it would be a great risk for the local associations which at the moment have seen some of the most vibrant and classy softball talents.
To date Lumaris has been working hard to strengthen softball at the association level and the corporate plan is designed to achieve that. Softball is played in nearly all the major centres in PNG but recently in the Highlands there have been fears of the game dying out in the rugby league- crazed region.
In Goroka, Mt Hagen, and Kainantu, games for this season have not yet started due to lack of playing grounds and facilities. This is one area that is stipulated in the corporate plan and that is to build standard softball facilities in all centres in the country with a main stadium in the nation’s capital.
Lumaris who comes from Nunopai village in New Ireland province started playing softball when he was just a boy in the village competition and he realizes the value of starting young. Like many children in his area he grew up to enjoy softball and took part in the coaching, organization and administration of his team. He went away from the village for further education but always came back home to help the village competition
Lumaris fears that if we do not set the base properly and start a national league for softball it might wind up in the associations being neglected like what is happening to soccer and rugby league at the moment.
“We have to set up a good platform for the development of the game at the club and association level and also at a very early age.”
Lumaris believes that we can be very competitive in the world championship if we set up our basis properly and the chances of us winning a world title are average but it is achievable. He has now resigned from his post as the chief administrator but has left a lot for the federation to continue from but will still be assisting wherever he can and as far as the federation and softball followers are concerned he still has a major part to play in the development of softball in PNG.
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