When the then manager (Neil Boyd) asked me if i’d be interested in taking over the running of the "Belfast" Northstars’ back in October 2010 for me it was a no brainer. Although i’d only been on the sidelines due to injury i knew the team was full of a great bunch of guys who had made me feel so welcome.

My first job i felt was to bring in someone to assist & help implement a more professional approach to the club (not that former managers hadn’t done a great job in the past), after all we are all continuously learning this very complex game & the more knowledge we have the better teammates we will become. Joe Raleigh stood out in my quest to find a quality coach, he is young & energetic, his knowledge & love of baseball is infectious & i felt he would be ideal for the growth of our club, fortunately he’s not a bad player either!

Our roster was slowly filling up with players from all over including Spain, Hong Kong, Sweden, USA, Canada, Venezuela, Fillipines, Germany, Wales, England & Northern Ireland. We really are the most multi-cultural sports club I know.

The next job was pretty daunting as i’d heard we’d struggled for years trying to find a permanent home & field that resembles anything like a baseball diamond. Gordon Cuthbert & myself have been working all year, being elected along the way onto the Castlereagh Sports Development Association (CSDA) & finally it has paid off with Castlereagh Borough Council agreeing to build the "Stars" their very own Baseball facility at Henry Jones Playing Fields, to include a full infield with drainage, pitchers mound, permanent backstop, fencing up 1st & 3rd foul lines, cut out bases & chalking of the lines, all hopefully to be completed by May 2012.

Everything is in place for the club to grow & improve for the 2012 season, we have forged a great relationship with Derriaghy Cricket Club who have been so helpful & accomodating by letting us use their batting cages along with their home ground for us to train on & bar facilities to have a drink after.

We have been fortunate enough to have Jim Graves, director of "Rockies Sports Bar" at the Odyssey Complex be our sponsor for 2011 which allowed us to purchase much needed equipment, hopefully we will have Jim on board next year and beyond.

The Northstars embarked on their first International Tournament in June, entering one of the top European tournaments in Europe, the "Finkstonball" tournament in Attnang-Puchheim, Austria, playing alongside very strong semi-pro teams as well as the Swiss National Team, finishing a creditable 6th out of 12 teams with a 2-3 record, every Northstar played his part & all will be remembered for their playing prowess along with their drinking skills.

On the field we had mixed fortunes finishing with a 5-10 record for the regular season which allowed us to progress for the second season in a row to the National Finals. 2010 saw the team bow out at the first hurdle but 2011 the team went one step further beating the Munster Warriors to progress to the semi finals, where our bats failed us & falling to the Dublin Hurricanes.

Looking to 2012 I feel we as a club can achieve bigger & better, it is down to everyone involved in the club to spread the word about a great bunch of guys who happen to play baseball in Northern Ireland. we need to recruit younger local lads to fill the cleats of the old weary one’s, youth is the answer to our clubs survival & continued growth of this great game in the province.

I am hopeful we will be able to coax Joe Raleigh back to our shore’s for next season, but if not, let us remember all he taught us in 2011 & take it into next season.

Jon