No place like the ballpark, Hickson native appointed ISC’s regional commissioner for Canada east

By Ron Thomson, Sentinel-Review

HICKSON – Ever since he was a boy Hickson’s Kyle Smith loved spending time at the ballpark.

He found a way to spend even more time at the diamond when he joined the International Softball Congress (ISC) as a broadcaster in 2006. Now, Smith is getting even more involved with the sport he loves. Last month, the ISC appointed Smith as regional commissioner for Canada east.

As commissioner, Smith will act as liaison between teams and the ISC board.

“I work as a connection, promoting the game,” he said. “I go to various tournaments around the countryside and work as a contact for the teams through to the ISC. I’ll try to grow the game in Canada east.”

“Kyle is already very active on the men’s fastball circuit in Ontario and we’re very happy to extend his involvement with the ISC beyond the broadcast booth,” said ISC executive director Ken Hackmeister, adding that Kyle already works closely with ISC vice president of operations Blair Setford and ISC vice president of communications Joe Todd.

“I’ve been working close with those guys probably for about two years, so I’ve been working in the organization already,” Smith said. “I’ve already got the lay of the land for how things work.”

Not planning on leaving the ISC anytime soon, Smith said he’ll bring continuity to the job. The 29-year-old Smith brings a youthful presence to the ISC, Hackmeister said.

“I bring a youthfulness and some new ideas to the table that haven’t been shared before,” Smith said. “You always have different ideas when you’re not a part of it. Maybe you see a few different things when you’re the outside looking in.”

In his new role, Smith said he’ll still get to spend lots of time in the broadcast booth. He has a passion for broadcasting and he’s glad he gets to keep calling games on ballparkradio.com.