Eric James has a dream. As the park manager at Forest Manor Park where RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) games are played, he wants to see the Indianapolis program become the best in the country. With nine years’ involvement and currently directing the Minors division he has seen all the ups and downs that come with being a community outreach program.

He has seen playing fields in disrepair, shortages of volunteers, and a lack of corporate sponsorships. He also has witnessed great growth in the program with an increase in child and parent involvement and more corporate sponsors, and as a result, the Indianapolis RBI program has improved to be one of the top 20 programs in the country out of a total of 219.
James understands the needs of the organization and the costs associated with an undertaking involving at least 20 teams and over 200 young people. He knows the importance of having good people participating as coaches, umpires, and other volunteers. James has ventured into various communities to recruit coaches and teams to join the RBI program. He has brought people in from other underprivileged areas or teams that did not have a league in which to play. One of those people is Eric’s long-time friend Amos Howard, a first year participant with RBI.
Howard, a retired metal worker, had been coaching football for 14 years. There was no league for 8-10 year olds on Indy’s east side where Howard used to coach. He decided to accept the challenge of coaching baseball and bring his team to Forest Manor Park. Howard believes in the importance of sportsmanship and teamwork and how those qualities turn young boys into good men later in life. He enjoys coaching with RBI where he can contribute his knowledge and experience and his passion is a must. Coach Howard’s passion is obvious on the field and when asked about the season and the challenges that came with it, he didn’t hesitate. “I’m already looking forward to next year.”
The challenges associated with RBI and its mission can be frustrating. James says he considered giving up once, but his son, an alumnus of RBI, changed his mind. “He said, ‘Dad, what about your dream?’” That dream of one day being the number one RBI program in the country keeps him going. James sees large growth potential for next year, perhaps doubling in size. He plans to visit local churches, schools, and community centers to recruit more good people like Amos Howard to continue to grow the program. With the passion and hard work these individuals display, it certainly seems possible for a dream to come true.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Incrediplex,
6002 Sunnyside Road,  Indianapolis, Indiana 46236

Recreational Tourney FUNdraiser for PlayBall Indiana (www.PlayBallIndiana.org) AND the Final ACO Regional of 2013 Season!!!

Order of Events:

Saturday:

10a – Registration & ACO SCR scoring (for those playing in ACO event).

1130a – Recreational Doubles – (no pro’s, no ICC Top Dog’s with score over 100, no ACO players with ACO SCR over 88). $10/person.

12pm ACO Doubles – Only $5/person if playing for points only! $30/team playing for points and cash prizes. 80% payout to 25% of cash playing teams (16 teams = top 4, 20 teams = top 5, etc..)

130pm – ACO Singles – $10/player if playing for points only. $25/player if playing for point AND 80% purse – payout to 25% of non-points only playing field (20 players = top 5, 40 players = top 10 etc..)

2pm – Recreational Singles – Only $5/person – Single elim, best of 3 matches. No one with ACO SCR over 88, no pro’s, no ICC top dog’s score over 102.

4p – Partners Tourney for 16 teams who have been eliminated from all events. Format/cost/prizes TBA.

Midwest Cornhole Tour Blind Draw for Partners tourney – will draw around 1pm. $10/person, 80% CASH payout.

Contest:We will run a couple of fun contests as well.SCR scoring – we will have SCR scoring for $10/each.

We will not be allowing ACO Doubles teams to also play in the REC Tourney. ACO Singles players are not able to play Rec singles. Pick one of the other. Nobody who is 85 SCR or higher or 100 ICC Top Dog score allowed in Rec events.

Tourneys are open to ALL players, all ages, all skill levels. For ACO events you have to be ACO member, can sign up at the event for $20 – good THRU 2014 season (1 free year).   BYO Bags or play with our provided bags – ACO Tailgater Classics. Bring a chair if you would like. Beer/food/drink will be sold onsite.

**The ACO World Championships are July 17-20 in Cincinnati and eligibility/seeding in those events will be based on your POINTS from tournament finishes and your SCR’s (52 bag Score Test). We will run additional SCR’s for $10/each if interested.

For more info and to pre-register, contact: Scott@IndyCustomCornhole.com

Saturday, Jan 26 was freezing! Temps dipped into the teens at Butler University, but it was HOT inside Clowes Hall! International, award-winning, Miami-based salsa band, TIEMPO LIBRE greeted the crowd with a blast of horns and pulsating piano! Pretty amazing it and of itself, but wait—it was a double header—un DOBLE JUEGO! Right after the concert, IndyLatino.com held an after-party fundraiser was a hit and raised some serious cash at the gate! Advisory Board and past PBI Board member, Carlos Sosa arranged the event with Clowes Hall and helped create awareness of PBI and the development of Latino programming to the Indy latino communities! Even the band joined the festivities and contributed. Also, PBI “sold” gloves and bats and almost 100 people filled the room!

They all helped PlayBall Indiana (The Indianapolis Chapter of MLB’s RBI Program) develop a fund to citywide programs for Latino Niños y Niñas: Teams, Leagues, Tournaments, Equipment, Education Programs, etc. and have a great time doing so!

The stats don’t lie—Latino kids are here to stay and we gotta teach them this great tradition! From Clemente to Oliva to Aparicio to Valenzuela to Puljos— baseball is Latin America’s great past time, too! This season, Playball Indiana will plan and develop baseball programs that offer playing/learning opportunities for Latino boys AND girls from ages 5-18!  Fundraising for these programs will be ongoing—We need help with: Teams, Leagues, Tournaments, Equipment, Education Programs, etc. (and we also need coaches and umpires, too)! Donate at our event or online. S

Support your passion—sus niños y béisbol!!

IRT Fundraiser Illustrates Baseball’s Role in Civil Rights

There was not a dry eye in the house, last Saturday night at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, after the special performance of “Jackie & Me” on the upper stage.  Nearly 300 people were in attendance for the play, including dozens of RBI players, coaches and parents.

“Jackie & Me” is adapted from a book by Dan Gutman.  The play was written by Steven Dietz, and was about a young boy who while working on a book report for school, is transported back in time to meet his book report subject, Jackie Robinson.  Jackie is just about to make history in breaking the color barrier by signing to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The play captured the racial tensions of the day, the numerous challenges Jackie faced, and gave everyone a sense of why number 42 is retired in every ball park in Major League Baseball.

After the play, a special panel discussion took place that included Carl Erskine, the former Dodger great and teammate of Jackie’s.  The panel also included authors Lee Lowenfish and Chris Lamb.  Lee’s book, “Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman,” is a fantastic glimpse into baseball’s history of that era.  Robert Neal, the actor who portrayed Branch Rickey in the play, said he read parts of this book to prepare for his role.  Chris wrote a book entitled, “Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Spring Training.” He also wrote “Conspiracy of Silence: Sportswriters and the Long Campaign to Desegregate Baseball.”  Both brought terrific insights into the post show discussion.

David James, national director for the RBI program, participated in the panel as well.  Milt Thompson, founder of Play Ball Indiana, was the moderator.

It was an honor to have Carl join us for the evening.  He greeted dozens of RBI players and coaches prior to the show in a special reception hosted by the IRT.  He signed autographs freely, even joking that “he must have had a good year.”  He posed for pictures with the cast from the play, and told a number of anecdotes about his playing days with Jackie.

“We are thrilled to have had this opportunity to be part of this play and this event, “ said Mike Lennox, Play Ball Indiana executive director.  “IRT is like a big brother to us, and made us feel special.  I know our kids will remember this night for a long time.”

MLB Productions Captures Our Story

Major League Baseball has given Play Ball Indiana what could be considered the gift of the year, by sending a four-person film crew from MLB Productions to Indianapolis to videotape the RBI Indianapolis program and some of its players, coaches and parents.  This is only the second RBI program to be profiled by Major League Baseball since the start of the RBI program in 1989.

MLB Productions producer Jason “JJ” Jhung and his crew (Katie Morgan, Sara Joo, Avery Brooks) arrived on Thurs. Oct. 11 for a four-day stay.  During that time they tried to capture the essence of the city by getting video of the NCAA Hall of Champions, the Indiana Sports Corporation, Victory Field and the Lids Sports Complex, home of the RBI Indianapolis Jr. RBI program.

Ken Kocher (CEO of Lids) and Kristy Ailes of Deloitte were both interviewed in their offices to talk about the huge investment in time and talent that was contributed to the program by their companies and employees.
Mike Lennox (PBI executive director) was interviewed at the Indiana Sports Corporation, on the same day that the Sports Corporation had donated baseballs and equipment bags to the RBI program.  Julie Ragsdale (PBI board chair) was interviewed at the ball diamonds of Forest Manor Park.

One of the main focuses of the video was to interview Jeremy O’Day.  Jeremy is a coach in the RBI program, but also the Lids Sports Complex manager.   But besides being an indispensable part of the management team, Jeremy’s life story is compelling and mirrors what RBI is all about.  Jeremy escaped an early life that was heading in the wrong direction, and has emerged as a role model other inner city young men can emulate.  He is now a family man with a college degree and a new business venture.

MLB Productions also interviewed Bob Haney (RBI program director), Jamie Williams, Antwan Jackson and Eric James, all longtime assistants in the program.  Other RBI players interviewed include:  Kamryn See, Justin Hidelburg (both players from the Jr. RBI Classic team in 2011) and MLB Productions plans to edit the video into a four minute promotional video, which will be posted on the MLB.Com website around Thanksgiving.  PBI will receive a copy at the same time for use locally.