SUNSHINE North’s James ‘Kerry’ McGuire may have lost his sight five years ago, but his love of sport hasn’t dimmed one bit.
The proud local baseball, softball and lawn bowls ambassador has been rewarded with a Queen’s Birthday honour for helping thousands of people, particularly those who are blind or partially sighted, discover the joys of sport.
“I’m very honoured to have been nominated,” the Order of Australia Medal recipient says. “I’m not sure who did, but somebody must have thought I did a good job. You pinch yourself . . . you think, gee, after all these years I must have achieved a bit.”
An Australian Sports Medal winner in 2000, McGuire has overseen countless clubs, championships and associations across the sporting realm since he first rolled up the sleeves with a Geelong baseball club in 1948.
A founding member of the Sunshine Softball Association (SSA) in 1956, he was also a player and coach with Sunshine Baseball Club for 19 years, until his daughter tapped him on the shoulder after his sight worsened.
“She said, ‘Perhaps you should stop coaching, you could get hurt by a flying ball’,” he recalls.
McGuire has also been an administrative force for numerous blind bowling groups since the early 1980s, including the International Blind Bowlers Association.
He says sport can be a great teacher, especially for children.
“As a kid we used to play footy and cricket in the street; that was before TV. Kids are not as involved in sport as they once were, but it’s a great teacher of discipline.”
SSA president Esther Lightowler says McGuire is the heart and soul of the sport in Brimbank.
“We wouldn’t have the facilities we have today if it wasn’t for James. He did everything.
‘‘If he got involved, he got involved boots and all. He’s just a good, all-round person who always had kids’ needs at heart.”
