SportsEvents Magazine

OCT 2015

SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.

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www.sportseventsmagazine.com 2016 Baseball/Softball Sourcebook 6 USA BASEBALL USA Baseball has been doing all it can to provide amateur baseball organizations and teams with the tools and resources needed to get more kids involved in the game. One method the organization has employed is Play Ball, a collaborative ini- tiative between USA Baseball and Major League Baseball. Officially launched earlier this year, Play Ball is a website (www.playball.org) featuring educational resources for parents, players, coaches and umpires on topics ranging from health and safety to planning tools. In addition to educational resources, the Play Ball website helps connect poten- tial players to local teams. Through the site, parents and athletes can search a data- base by zip code to find local leagues and even register to play. "We want more kids playing more base- ball. But we also want them playing a bet- ter version of the game, and we want them playing longer into adolescence," Riccobono said. "With Play Ball, there's a lot of effort being made to provide every- one involved in the sport with more resources to make sure everyone has a better overall experience with our sport." These efforts to grow the game have also led to the launch of Pitch Smart (www.pitchsmart.org), an arm care initia- tive with age-appropriate guidelines to hile baseball has been one of the team sports challenged by declining participation in recent years, according to Sport & Fitness Industry Association participation trends reports, leaders of numerous baseball organizations have been working to reverse the trend. "While we have seen a steady decline over a period of years dating back to 2006, that is starting to plateau," said Rick Riccobono, senior director of development for USA Baseball. "Not to sug- gest that we've solved all of the challenges facing our sport, but there is reason to feel good about the direction we're heading. It's an exciting time for our sport." W BY PAIGE TOWNLEY Baseball: A New Direction AABC

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