Over the past three years, Fish injected new energy and excitement into Israel baseball and raised the professional level of both players and coaches. He introduced several highly successful programs that generated new interest in baseball, including Baseball Le’kulam, which brings together Jewish and Arab Israeli 6th graders to learn baseball together. Now in its second year, the program has proved a great success.
Fish launched the Israel Baseball Academy in 2014, which selects the top players aged 14-21 from around Israel and gives them intensive coaching, international competition and opportunities to try out for Major League programs in Europe. He was also instrumental in setting up the successful Masa Israel baseball internship program, which brings American baseball players who have graduated high school or college to Israel to work in IAB baseball programs. Fish has also set up a highly professional framework for coaches throughout the country, and has instilled baseball work ethics in players of all ages that impact their lives both on and off the field.
Fish will continue to be a resource for Israel baseball from the US and will remain on as a member of the Israel Baseball Senior National team.
“Israel baseball has thrived over the past three years, and a lot of our success is due to Fish’s extremely hard work and energy,” says IAB President Peter Kurz. “His tireless efforts and unstoppable drive created a buzz about baseball in Israel and generated new interest throughout the country. Fish has helped us to evolve into an organization that can continue to expand on the outstanding work he has already done, and we will be stronger for it. We thank him for all he has done and wish him the very best.”
“I’m really proud of everything we’ve accomplished together over the past three years,"Fish says. "I’ve watched level of play get better and better, and I am confident that the level will continue to rise. This is not goodbye, I’ll be staying in touch and helping Israel baseball in any way I can.”