The camp looks to grow the game of baseball not only in Africa, but around the globe as well.
Since its inception, the MLB African Elite Camp has unearthed African talents such as minor league players Callan Pearce, Rowan Ebersohn (both play for the Minnesota Twins), Vince Deyzel, and Victor and Gift Ngoepe (all play for the Pittsburg Pirates).
The above all ply their trade in the United States of America.
Victor is the latest product out of the camp and has recently joined his older brother, Gift, at the Pirates.
The camp returned to Boksburg in 2014 and has since seen 43 of the continent’s upcoming talents, who were selected from tryouts held across the continent, mentored by MLB coaches.
It afforded MLB to work with the players and allowed players to work with some of the sport’s best coaches. The camp also included multiple baseball games.
“The whole idea of the camp is to grow the game,” said Bruce Hines, the coordinator of instruction for MLB’s International Operations, in a pitch-side interview at the Boksburg Cardinals Baseball Club.
“It’s to build baseball players, coaches and scouts,” explained the American coach, who has been coaching the game for 32 years to date.
“No player will leave the camp the same. They will leave here knowing what they need to do when playing the game, from batting to pitching and fielding and how to prepare their bodies to ensure they’re in the best possible shape. It also teaches them different techniques.
“There’s no word to describe the experience from this camp – it’s life-changing. I hope when we leave we’ve impacted somebody’s life.”
The camp was followed by a Coach Development Programme (CDP) between December 11 and 17. The CDP, which is also a brainchild of MLB, was designed to train coaches in specialised areas of the game.
Boksburg Cardinals Baseball Club President Norman Muller paid tribute to the camp’s success.
“We at the Boksburg Cardinals would like to thank MLB, Ekurhuleni and Baseball South Africa for organising the camp and making it such a success.”
