The third and final session of Baseball for All (Baseball Le’Kulam) for 2015 was held on Thursday and Friday December 3-4 at the Baptist Village in Petah Tikvah. The final session was attended by 25 7th graders from Modiin and Ramle, as well as a staff of 10.
This session marked the end of the pilot year of this unique program, which brings Jewish and Arab kids in Israel together to learn and play baseball. Baseball for All was developed by the Israel Association of Baseball and the Play Global non-profit organization, which teaches baseball to coaches and youth in developing countries and areas of conflict.
In addition to the three session held at the Baptist Village in March, June and December, there were also two Family Nights that were held between the sessions - one at Kibbutz Gezer and one in Ramle.
The results of this program were all positive. “The participants were excited to come back to each session,” says Nate Fish, National Team Head Coach and one of the founders of the program. “Our aim was to get them to meet kids from other cultures simply by playing the sport of baseball together, and this is what they did and what they’ve been enjoying.”
Most of the participants have chosen to continue playing baseball outside of the program, with the kids from Modiin joining the local league there and the players from Ramle starting up a team that will be practicing weekly and will be part of the national league.
“With this program, we have taken the first step on our way to expanding baseball to all areas of Israel, to expose kids who would normally not come into contact with the sport and to create a fun environment in which they can meet new friends who they would normally not have the opportunity to spend time with,” says Peter Kurz, President of the IAB. "This is the IAB's modest but genuine contribution to coexistence in Israel."
The program will continue in 2016.
For some scenes from the session, check out this clip.