Growing the game with everyone in mind: EL1 and the Mariners collaborate to launch the “Mariners Training Center”
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In an exciting “first step,” the Seattle Mariners and EL1 sports announced a partnership to launch the “Mariners Training Center.” A multi-year partnership between EL1, a leading youth sports training company across the nation, and the Mariners seeks to expand both equitable access and participation in youth baseball and softball. While this may just be the beginning, it’s an excellent start towards continuing to give every kid and young adult the opportunity to not only get introduced to the game but play it as well.
Mariners Director of Community Relations and Mariners Care executive Nova Newcomer is joined by EL1 Co-Founders Aaron Trolia and Jameel Cante (Photos by Liv Lyons)
The Details of this partnership
A large part of the partnership is that five of EL1’s baseball and softball facilities in the Seattle region will serve as the locations for the initial “Mariners Training Centers.” Those five facilities are in Puyallup, Redmond, Tacoma, Woodinville, and Seattle. State-of-the-art areas for these young athletes to gather and grow their games, they will host a variety of activities such as new camps and clinics, one-on-one lessons, and team training. These five centers will all have their own grand opening events over the first two weekends in March, kicking off both youth baseball and softball seasons. Free and open to the public, those in attendance can try out throwing and hitting stations, as well as bat and ball games. Every child that attends will be able to take home a Mariners Training Center ballplayer kit.
“As Tacoma natives, coming up with the Mariners organization... all of the sudden you get an opportunity like this to partner with the Mariners is a dream come true. Truly, the work is just getting started now. Lots of years of conversations, I think they’ve been watching our maturity as we’ve been coming together as a company... We wanted to unite the baseball and softball communities for years, and to partner with the Mariners, with their brand and their history, the excitement around the team? Everyone has come together.”
Some of the steps that “On Base 365” will take as part of the Mariners Training Center, and dates and times are shown to the media in attendance (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Something to note is the quote from Bookie Gates, Baseball Beyond Borders founder, about how this is all just the first step. EL1 plans to continue to expand the ways that they impact growing the game and it’s accessibility by spreading their facilities and impact throughout the five states that the Mariners are nearest to, otherwise known as their market. The co-founders of EL1, Aaron Trolia and Jameel Cante, both discussed the future that they have planned for this partnership, amplifying the statement that this is simply just the beginning of continued development in the area of accessibility and action for these kids.
“In speaking with the Mariners, one of their key goals is to expand throughout their TV market region. We are talking about how to expand into Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, as well as really expanding the footprint here and over into Eastern Washington”
Aaron Trolia (left) and Jameel Cante speak about the launch of the “Mariners Training Center” (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Collaboration with Baseball Beyond Borders
An aspect of this announcement and launch is that Baseball Beyond Borders is collaborating with EL1, as BBB founder Bookie Gates was in attendance for the event The Mariners Training Center will serve as the official training center for the Hometown Nine Student-Athlete Fellows and Baseball Beyond Borders RBI. The Baseball Beyond Borders Kings notably had an incredibly meaningful 2022, taking a trip through the South as part of the Reconciliation tour. With the help of the Mariners and their partnership with EL1, the Baseball Beyond Borders family now gets to have a solidified training location with the Mariners Training Center.
“Baseball Beyond Borders is such an essential part of the community. They have been looking for a home and promised time slots. It’s not right, when we’re talking about inclusion, you have to think about those people from that perspective and point of view and not just throw them into a time slot that they may not be able to make. Our commitment to Baseball Beyond Borders it to work with them from the beginning. We want them to be part of what we’re doing, and that’s why they are here right now; so we can do this from the start, there’s no misconceptions or misunderstandings and we are aligned”
Bookie Gates, founder of Baseball Beyond Borders, speaks about what this partnership means (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Struggling with trying to have a proper location to practice or really establish a consistent spot for these young players to hone their craft is something that nobody should have to deal with, let alone those are may not be able to participate as easily as others. Baseball Beyond Borders already does incredible work as a Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) team, but having an established home-base is key to foster growth and continue to move forward in growing this game in the community. With the “Mariners Training Center,” that now is something that Bookie Gates and BBB can do and not have to wonder about when the season comes around and events need to be coordinated.
“This is a first step in the right direction that allows inclusivity in our practice to be able to really build upon or baseball and softball model in baseball beyond borders. It ensures that communities are centered and have the direct access to create a sense of belonging. I think it’s important that they now have a power of place that they can go be what they want to become. This partnership, this collaboration, this team effort with EL1, the Seattle Mariners, and Baseball Beyond Borders is moving towards is going to be a catalyst to increase baseball and softball access in our region”
Bringing the RBI West Regionals back to Seattle
Another huge piece of news that came with the announcement of the Mariners Training Center was the news that the RBI West Regionals, which have taken place in California recently, are returning to Seattle. The event is yet another example of baseball’s growth in the region and continued efforts torwards getting those who may not be able to play this great game a chance to try it out. With this tournament, not only will these young athletes be able to give baseball a try, but they’ll compete at a high level with other teams from their respective region, like when the Baseball Beyond Borders Kings represented Seattle in last years event.
“It’s an amazing opportunity, anytime we can pull events from California and plant them in the Northwest, it’s a win for us... There’s so much opportunity, to be able to have that event here in the Northwest would be dynamic”
Hometown Nine Student-Athlete Fellows try out the “Mariners Training Center” (Photos by Ben VanHouten)
“It becomes a full circle moment, for myself, being one of the few players that participated in that last regional tournament that took place here in the Kingdome. I think it says a lot about our continued work to provide that access, and that’s where being able to host a regional tournament is a catalyst moment that allows our kids to see themselves in an elite, competitive development atmosphere. ”
The youth are our future
This is an incredible announcement for the game of baseball in the Pacific Northwest, and another way that the Mariners are inspiring so many young people to try this sport out. Baseball has struggled in terms of viewership and popularity over the years, which is no secret, but these Mariners teams over the past few years have started to draw people of all ages in. The ability to have dedicated, accessible, conveniently located facilities for these young athletes to gather at is a big deal in it’s own right, but knowing that it will also be a place that the Baseball Beyond Borders and Hometown Nine Student-Athlete Fellows can call home is critical as well.