Baseball & Educational Academy
ILB's Baseball and Educational Academy in Barahona, DR officially opened in April 2008. Academy staff includes head coach Jose Carrion, a Dominican native and former MLB triple-A player, and Yamile López our cook. There are currently 15 young men ages 14–19 who practice with Carrion in the morning, eat a nutritious meal prepared by Yamile at midday (for most this is the only true meal of the day), and attend school during the afternoon. Participation in the program requires players to maintain an average of 80% of all possible points in each class, meet with local community mentors, and attend a weekly men's group. Needless to say, after a year and a half of planning, we are very excited to finally have the program up and running and making a difference in the lives of young Dominicans every day.
We are currently in Stage One of the program, which involves 1) employing academy staff (currently, the head coach and cook) 2) providing one large main meal which provides much of the nourishment needed for the day 3) working with each player to help them maintain their "B" average in each class and 4) providing the opportunity for players to meet once a week with a small men's group, led by a local mentor.
Stage Two will involve 1) renting a house or apartment close to the field, school and community to facilitate 2) bringing in more boys from the bateys (impoverished Haitian villages), transitioning those who live in extreme poverty into a more controlled and positive environment and 3) providing not only the mid-day meal, but breakfast and dinner as well.
Eventually we would like to develop Stage Three, which would include 1) purchasing our own land and 2) building our own field and own living quarters. We would seek a piece of land close to the city where the boys would live during the week. This would provide the ideal environment for the boys- a controlled and positive environment which would allow them to mutually pursue their baseball training while focusing on their education, character, and spiritual growth.
Our goals for the program are for the players to receive the best baseball instruction in the area, a quality education, character and leadership development, and spiritual mentorship.
Learn how to help sponsor a player. Watch a video about sponsorship or more videos of Carrions and the players.