The inaugural 12u PG International Championship was held a few weeks ago in Fort Myers, Fla., and while normally a 12u event wouldn’t generate too much buzz, especially in November – as the baseball season is winding down – this tournament was different. Baseball Academy became the first European team to compete in a Perfect Game event.
The Baseball Academy is based out of Brno, Czech Republic and founder David Winkler has been working steadily to build a formidable program. Initially starting in 2008, the Academy has provided an enormous opportunity for children in the South Moravia area to learn to play the game and compete at a high level.
“Our Baseball Academy started in 2008, but after two years it was clear that we were not heading in the right direction,” said Winkler. “Academy was working under Baseball Teams here in Czech and there was a chance to start a new, independent Academy program that would be open for all players in South Moravia. So I started the Academy in 2010, the first two years were really hard, and a lot of people were thinking that I would not be able to stabilize the Academy. We started with 10 kids, the next year we had 20, and the organization began to grow steadily every year.
"In 2014 we opened our baseball training facility and although it is small compared to facilities in the U.S., the formation of the facility was a game-changer for us. In 2015 we had more than 100 kids in our program and for this year we made the decision to only bring in 60 players because we wanted to focus on quality of play and developing elite talent. The programs we ran included special strength and conditioning practices, rehabilitation, baseball workouts, and specially focused practices for pitchers and catchers.”
In the U.S., it is often a new experience for players to travel against top-level competition from across the country. The element of facing new competition at 12 years of age is a tough enough task and when you throw in that the Baseball Academy had to travel 30-plus hours across the Atlantic it becomes a whole new ballgame. This was the first time coming to the U.S. for a lot of the players but it was also a great new experience.
“The flight was a bit funny and strange too," added Winkler. "For most of young kids this was the first time ever coming to the U.S. We had the great fortune of coming to Florida where everyone we met was great and welcoming. After couple of games the kids found that baseball is only baseball and the most important thing at this age is for the kids to have fun. They were better day-by-day and I think that they had a tremendous experience not only because of the baseball side, but because of the human side too. We are teaching our kids lot of things, but it all comes back to the two key tenants of respect and humility.”
Baseball Academy showed a lot of toughness and energy from such a young group and even won the first game of the tournament. A 13-0 victory that saw the offense rack up 12 hits and the pitching staff limited the opposing offense to only one hit. PG Series director Ben Ford explained that Baseball Academy coming to play in the U.S. for only the first step in the expanding international game not only from baseball but from Perfect Game as well.
“One of our missions at Perfect Game is to grow the game of baseball,” said Ford. “We are in the process of expanding what we do internationally and this was just the first step in that process. We are very excited about being involved with baseball people from all over the world.”
Winkler went on to explain just how special this event was for not only the players but for him as well. Baseball Academy has already set up dates for tournaments next year and it should be a lot of fun to see what they continue to bring to the table.
“The whole experience was tremendous,” said Winkler. “The goal was to play baseball against U.S. teams and to play with respect, humility and to have fun. That happened during the weekend and I am so proud of my players. I believe that we already starting a deeper cooperation with Perfect Game, and we are already in the process of setting up a dates for next year at the 14u and 12u level. I believe that our cooperation will be continuing throughout the upcoming years.”
Winkler and his organization have broken through to be the first European team to compete in a Perfect Game event and it doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. Perfect Game’s expanded international efforts coupled with the life-changing experience that can come from a trip like that shows that baseball is all-inclusive regardless of the geography. The environment that encompasses Perfect Game events is unlike any other and even foreign players can feel right at home here on a baseball field.
“This International tournament was the first time that the Baseball Academy has traveled with 12 year old kids to the U.S." said Winkler. "I believe that we started something that will help all players and I am 100 percent sure that we will fulfill the dreams of not only the players, but also the parents (myself included). So I have to say thank you to both of my coaches and to the parents that helped along the well.
"I will tell you this, on the way back all of the kids were asking if we could come back here to Florida for another event, which says it all about the experience of Perfect Game and the U.S.”