Five members of the Israel Baseball Academy are preparing to fly to Prague next week to try out for tryouts for MLB’s European Elite Camp for the top forty young players in Europe, following their completion of a full year of activity in mid-March. 

The MLB Camp will take place in August in Hoofddorp, Holland.  One Academy player, short stop, Noam Calisar, 17, was already selected, and played for, MLB’s European Union All-Star Team in Barcelona, Spain in April. 

The Academy is an elite training program for players in Israel between 14 and 19-years-old as recognized by Major League Baseball.  Four players in the inaugural Academy class graduate high school this year, and will go into the army or yeshiva next year. Seven will return to continue to pursue their baseball goals. 

The program was a unique experience for the players, who met on a weekly basis to receive the highest level of coaching available today in Israel. This was in addition to their other baseball activities, such as league practices and games, coaching, enrichment program and national team practices. Each of the players gained from the experience in their own way.

“The Academy was an excellent experience for me as it took place in the off season and prepared me for the important events that awaited me in April,” says MLB EU All-Star Team member Noam. “With a small group of top level players we were able to have high quality practices with technical focus on all aspects of the game. It also gave us an opportunity to work with an MLB scout (Tom Gillespie from the Pittsburgh Pirates) and learn from him.”

“When I started at the Academy I didn’t have any confidence to play with the older players,” says Ofer Bobrov, 15, from Misgav, and the youngest member of the Academy. “Slowly I gained confidence and in the end I saw what a high level we’ve reached and I was inspired to continue developing my baseball.”

“My time at the academy has really transformed me as a ball player,” notes Shlomo Lipman, 17, from Bet Shemesh. “Having one day a week to really work on the fundamentals of hitting fielding and pitching really made my week much better. Along the way I also had a lot a lot of fun with some of my best friends, who I've been playing with for years. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

The Academy team, with a few additions to help round out the roster, will travel together in June to complete in the Under 19 Baseball World Cup in Athens, Greece.  The Israel Baseball Academy will expand its roster to 15 players for the 2015/2016 period, and will begin practicing in October 2015.