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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