G.O. Baseball Academy
Developing
Character through :
1. Service
2. Teamwork/Unity
3. Discipline
4. Responsibility
5. Excellence
In
order to produce Christian Leaders on the field, at home, in families, in jobs,
in their neighborhoods, in school and in their marriages.
The goal of our Baseball Academy is to provide holistic
training that will set our kids up for success spiritually, vocationally, and
as a person. Our mission is to provide teaching, counsel, guidance and role
models to help show these kids the path they can take to be impact Christian leaders
within their culture.
Baseball
Instruction
Our coaching staff will be providing daily instruction
throughout the week, working on developing the necessary tools to succeed in
baseball. The players will be trained with the intention of providing them with
the opportunity to be seen and play in front of MLB scouts. We will also have
our own in-house little league system with 3 separate seasons. We will also be
hosting 2 large tournaments each year to provide a safe, competitive
environment for teams from Santiago and from around the country to come play.
We will also have various “best of 7” series throughout the year for our
players to play against other teams from around the country. In addition to the
little league, tournaments and series, we will also be implementing 2-3 weeks
“dead periods” where kids will focus on finishing the school year, starting the
school year, and enjoying the Christmas/King’s day holidays. This will also
provide a clear way of communicating with parents for times the kids will be
free to leave the area for vacation.
Baseball is a great way for us to teach kids valuable
lessons and skills from a young age. The 5 Pillars of our Baseball Academy are
Service, Teamwork/Unity, Discipline, Responsibility and Excellence. Our coaches
will be not only speaking about these characteristics but also exemplifying
them daily in a way that they will be engrained in our player’s minds and
attitudes from a young age.
Spiritual
Instruction
The spiritual development and opporunities to pour into our
players is a top priority in our academy. Our coaches will be giving daily
devotionals before practices and games, as well as investing in the kids lives
outside of baseball. On top of the
daily devotionals, the kids will be attending a 1-hour “Discipleship Class” on
Wednesdays. We will be working through an age-appropriate curriculum on various
topics, the first of which will be an overview on God’s plan for redemption
throughout the bible. We feel that our kids will learn valuable tools like
listening/respect in a classroom setting, studying, along with valuable
biblical insights they will pick up along the way. This is also a chance for
our Coaches to grow as they lead these weekly classes. When we launch in January
of 2013, we will also be personally giving a bible to each boy in our programs
so that they are able to study at home as well if they choose. As leaders
emerge from our players, they will be asked to step into new roles such as
facilitating small groups and bible studies in order to aid in their growth as
Christians and leaders.
Holistic
Development
Along with the discipleship classes, our players will be
attending a 1-hour intense English class each week starting at Age 8. We also
believe that our English and Discipleship classes will open up many doors such
as attending GO Ministries’ Seminary program, or finding one of many jobs that
requires knowledge of English. We understand that only a handful of our players
will have the opportunity to sign a MLB deal, so we will be working tirelessly
to help prepare them in a variety of areas. As we begin to get a sense of the
talents/gifts of each kid through the Baseball Academy, G.O. Ministries will
provide training for specific and valuable skills such as leather making,
mechanic work, wood-working, welding and other tools that will help our kids
find quality jobs in this country.
MLB Signings
Guidance
While we are preparing our kids for life after baseball, we
will also be prepared to help our players succeed if they have the blessing of
playing at the next level. We will provide guidance, connections to MLB teams,
and an expertise on the process so that our kids are prepared for tryouts and
eventually prepared to move down to train at MLB academies after signing. The
vast majority of non-MLB Baseball Academies in the DR are detrimental to their
kids because of the cut-throat nature of this multi-million dollar industry in
the country. Many students are forced to sign contracts that sends 30-40% of
their first contract to their Trainer. At GO, we will have our kids sign a
contract that sends 1 peso to the ministry, and then leave it up to the player
if he would like to give a portion of his contract towards a specific project
in the ministry. We seek to be a resource that is looking out for the best
interest of the player, not in it for selfish reasons or for money, which can
be hard to find when a player is on the verge of signing a contract. Another way we seek to help our players
is through counseling and guidance about their money management. Teaching these
young men how to wisely spend and save their earnings is a desperately needed
aspect of the process. We also will not end our relationship with the signing
of their contract, but continue to be a resource and encouragement as they
start their long hard journey from the MLB academies here in the DR, to the
Major Leagues.
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