Re: [新聞] Rays Looking To Brazil For Talent
Rays to Open Baseball Academy in Brazil
29.05.09 03:26
Tampa Bay Rays tap into sport-mad country to find good players and help grow
the sport of baseball
Could the next Ronaldo or Renzo Gracie or Gustavo Kuerten be wearing a
baseball glove instead of a soccer shoe, Jiu-Jitsu gi or tennis shorts?
That might be premature, but the Tampa Bay Rays, by establishing a baseball
academy in Brazil, believe they can tap into the sports-mad country of almost
200 million to find a few good players down the line. And help grow the sport
in the process.
"Brazil has demonstrated through the years that it has produced tremendous
athletes in almost any sport," said Andres Reiner, the Rays' special director
of development. "There's no reason why they wouldn't be good baseball
players."
Reiner, whose vision was a leading force in establishing the program in
Brazil, knows it won't be an easy task, or a quick one; according to Reiner,
groundbreaking for the academy is scheduled to begin sometime between
mid-July and mid-August. But with the proper instruction, he sees a huge
opportunity to mine that talent.
"Baseball is a game that can be taught to those with great athleticism," said
Reiner. "The goal is to get kids ages 6-13 playing, to popularize the game.
Some will fall in love with it just like in other countries where they play
it from early childhood."
The Rays' approach is to split the program into two distinct segments, which
Reiner terms the Professional and the Social. The Professional sessions will
run in the mornings, with a set of instructors preparing the more advanced
athletes for higher levels of play, including international and, hopefully
one day, professional. The Social, for kids in that 6-13 youth group from
area schools, will be run in the afternoons by a separate group of coaches,
with the emphasis on making the game fun so kids want to keep playing while
learning the game's basic skills.
Today, baseball in Brazil is mostly played by those of Japanese descent,
whose ancestors brought the game to their adopted homeland in the past two or
three generations. Importantly, Reiner wants the Rays' academy to focus on
native Brazilians, those who are mostly competing in soccer, Jiu-Jitsu,
tennis, and other popular sports there.
With the success of baseball academies in Venezuela and Columbia, the Rays
had been considering expanding their programs in places like China, South
Africa and Ghana, according to Reiner, who instead suggested Brazil because
of its relative proximity to the U.S. and other baseball-playing nations.
"The question was where, and how, would we do this?" added Reiner.
"Fortunately, we found a local government in the state of Sao Paulo, an area
with three major universities and and urban location with land that was
accessible to many children. This made it possible for the Rays to commit the
money to building the academy and finding qualified instructors for both the
Professional and Social sides."
This kind of innovation is typical of the way the Rays do business these
days. It may have taken longer than the original owners of the team, which
debuted in the tough American League East in 1996 and suffered through 10
losing seasons – amassing as many as 70 wins only once.. But, built on the
strength of young players from its deep farm system and a handful of shrewd
trades, last year's 31-win jump, Division title and World Series appearance
was the first fruit of what Rays fans hope is long-term prosperity, done a
little differently than their more deep-pocketed brethren in the division.
They hope to point one day to Leonardo Reginatto, a 19-year-old from
Curitiba, Brazil, who signed with the Rays earlier this year and is currently
honing his skills at the team's academy in Venezuela. Reiner has high hopes
for Reginatto, though it is too early for him to predict how far he may
advance in the organization.
"From the first time I started with the Rays, from the owner down, they have
seen spending in scouting and development as an investment rather than an
expense," said Reiner. "We have had a lot of flexibility to try to do things
that we think will be successful, and that has been to the organization's
benefit."
But Reiner is not opposed to others copying what the Rays have done, as it
would help grow the sport. "Just as the academy in Venezuela has been so
popular, I hope that more kids get the opportunity in Brazil to play baseball
and improve."
Source: IBAF
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