Baseball Academy Expands Focus
Published on August 1, 2009 - 1:00 pm
by Reggie Hayes
Next spring, look for "Reviving Baseball in Inner City" program.
Posted on Thu. Jul. 30, 2009 - 09:20 am EDT
By Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel
The World Baseball Academy has a long-term goal to bring international youth teams to Fort Wayne, but two new moves prove its commitment to its own backyard.
The WBA will start a Reviving Baseball in Inner City (RBI) Program next spring and will also take over promoting and operating the Eric Wedge Baseball Camp.
South Side baseball coach Matt Harmon has been hired to run the RBI program by the WBA, a nonprofit organization that operates out of the ASH Centre complex.
"We're not trying to duplicate other things, like Little League or Wildcat," WBA Executive Director Caleb Kimmel said. "We're targeting at-risk kids and we're going to be working with the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Foster Grandparents and YMCAs to reach those kids. We want the RBI program to be a complement to what those service organizations are already doing."
Wedge's baseball camp, previously run by the Fort Wayne Sports Corp., will tie directly into the RBI program, Kimmel said.
Proceeds from the Wedge camp will be used for the RBI program, and the WBA will use some of those proceeds as scholarships so that at-risk youths can attend the Wedge camp. Wedge, a Fort Wayne native, is manager of the Cleveland Indians.
"We have the blessing of the Fort Wayne Sports Corp., and from Eric," Kimmel said. "The bigger the RBI program becomes, the bigger the Wedge camp becomes. And the bigger the Wedge camp, the bigger the RBI program."
The WBA still has plans to begin a Junior Olympic-style program where international teams come to Fort Wayne for two-week camps, but that won't be likely to happen in 2010 as first hoped.
The WBA will continue working to upgrade the baseball facilities at the ASH Centre to make sure that first international event is well-received.
The University of Saint Francis and the WBA are working toward building a first-class collegiate baseball field at the ASH Centre, Kimmel said.
The field would be used by the Saint Francis team, but would also be available for use by other teams and for the WBA's international plans.
Kimmel and the other key figures in the WBA - Larry Bryant, Steve Sotir and Darin Van Tassell - will continue to solidify their international connections.
Van Tassell was the technical commissioner of the World Baseball Classic Championship in Los Angeles last spring and is touring potential 2016 Olympic cities on behalf of Olympic baseball. Kimmel visited El Salvador for the WBA last April.
"We want to continue to go to one or two nations a year to build relationships and help serve the mission of the WBA," Kimmel said. "There are still some significant plans in the works. We're holding at bay some of those top international federations wanting to come to Fort Wayne until we have everything in place. Meanwhile, we'll work on how we can impact kids here."