POSTED: May 13th 2009
NewsUpdate
Operation Home Run for baseball
KEIR RADNEDGE & LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
TAMPA: United States soldiers serving in Iraq have been introducing local youngsters to baseball through Operation Home Run, a joint effort which is providing equipment, an introduction to the sport and getting them started on learning how to bat.
Operation Home Run involves the US Military, the Iraqi Ministry of Youth and Sport, IBAF, MLB International and Pitch In For Baseball in a programme being progressed in northwest Baghdad.
The equipment arrived through the IBAF development program partner Pitch In For Baseball and coordination has been undertaken by the Ministry of Youth and Sport. About 40 children were on hand for the initial drop-off to learn about the new equipment destined for local youth centers in their region of the Iraqi capital.
A deputy with the Ministry said that a competitive league would be set up to ensure young people locally embraced the sport and that they would want to return the initial favour by inviting the soldiers to contest an exhibition game.
Lieutenant Conor Browne, the assistant civil military operations officer 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Camp Liberty, said: “It was a great opportunity for the soldiers and, while there were some tentative children, many of them picked up the game quickly and showed a true interest in the sport.”
This is yet another outstanding example how the IBAF development program is reaching out to cross boundaries and bring more grassroots athletes into the sport.
Keywords · IBAF · MLB International · Pitch In For Baseball · Iraqi Ministry of Youth and Sport
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Laura Walden ()
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