G.O. Baseball Academy

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.