Growing the game with everyone in mind: EL1 and the Mariners collaborate to launch the “Mariners Training Center”
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In an exciting “first step,” the Seattle Mariners and EL1 sports announced a partnership to launch the “Mariners Training Center.” A multi-year partnership between EL1, a leading youth sports training company across the nation, and the Mariners seeks to expand both equitable access and participation in youth baseball and softball. While this may just be the beginning, it’s an excellent start towards continuing to give every kid and young adult the opportunity to not only get introduced to the game but play it as well.
Mariners Director of Community Relations and Mariners Care executive Nova Newcomer is joined by EL1 Co-Founders Aaron Trolia and Jameel Cante (Photos by Liv Lyons)
The Details of this partnership
A large part of the partnership is that five of EL1’s baseball and softball facilities in the Seattle region will serve as the locations for the initial “Mariners Training Centers.” Those five facilities are in Puyallup, Redmond, Tacoma, Woodinville, and Seattle. State-of-the-art areas for these young athletes to gather and grow their games, they will host a variety of activities such as new camps and clinics, one-on-one lessons, and team training. These five centers will all have their own grand opening events over the first two weekends in March, kicking off both youth baseball and softball seasons. Free and open to the public, those in attendance can try out throwing and hitting stations, as well as bat and ball games. Every child that attends will be able to take home a Mariners Training Center ballplayer kit.
Some of the steps that “On Base 365” will take as part of the Mariners Training Center, and dates and times are shown to the media in attendance (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Something to note is the quote from Bookie Gates, Baseball Beyond Borders founder, about how this is all just the first step. EL1 plans to continue to expand the ways that they impact growing the game and it’s accessibility by spreading their facilities and impact throughout the five states that the Mariners are nearest to, otherwise known as their market. The co-founders of EL1, Aaron Trolia and Jameel Cante, both discussed the future that they have planned for this partnership, amplifying the statement that this is simply just the beginning of continued development in the area of accessibility and action for these kids.
Aaron Trolia (left) and Jameel Cante speak about the launch of the “Mariners Training Center” (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Collaboration with Baseball Beyond Borders
An aspect of this announcement and launch is that Baseball Beyond Borders is collaborating with EL1, as BBB founder Bookie Gates was in attendance for the event The Mariners Training Center will serve as the official training center for the Hometown Nine Student-Athlete Fellows and Baseball Beyond Borders RBI. The Baseball Beyond Borders Kings notably had an incredibly meaningful 2022, taking a trip through the South as part of the Reconciliation tour. With the help of the Mariners and their partnership with EL1, the Baseball Beyond Borders family now gets to have a solidified training location with the Mariners Training Center.
Bookie Gates, founder of Baseball Beyond Borders, speaks about what this partnership means (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Struggling with trying to have a proper location to practice or really establish a consistent spot for these young players to hone their craft is something that nobody should have to deal with, let alone those are may not be able to participate as easily as others. Baseball Beyond Borders already does incredible work as a Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) team, but having an established home-base is key to foster growth and continue to move forward in growing this game in the community. With the “Mariners Training Center,” that now is something that Bookie Gates and BBB can do and not have to wonder about when the season comes around and events need to be coordinated.
Bringing the RBI West Regionals back to Seattle
Another huge piece of news that came with the announcement of the Mariners Training Center was the news that the RBI West Regionals, which have taken place in California recently, are returning to Seattle. The event is yet another example of baseball’s growth in the region and continued efforts towards getting those who may not be able to play this great game a chance to try it out. With this tournament, not only will these young athletes be able to give baseball a try, but they’ll compete at a high level with other teams from their respective region, like when the Baseball Beyond Borders Kings represented Seattle in last years event.
Hometown Nine Student-Athlete Fellows try out the “Mariners Training Center” (Photos by Ben VanHouten)
The youth are our future
This is an incredible announcement for the game of baseball in the Pacific Northwest, and another way that the Mariners are inspiring so many young people to try this sport out. Baseball has struggled in terms of viewership and popularity over the years, which is no secret, but these Mariners teams over the past few years have started to draw people of all ages in. The ability to have dedicated, accessible, conveniently located facilities for these young athletes to gather at is a big deal in it’s own right, but knowing that it will also be a place that the Baseball Beyond Borders and Hometown Nine Student-Athlete Fellows can call home is critical as well.
https://www.whereweconverge.com/post/category/Baseball+Beyond+Borders