by British Baseball Federation, www.britishbaseball.org
The London Mets Baseball and Softball Club learned today that it has been awarded a £9,600 grant by Sport England to help develop and expand the club’s successful youth programme for young people aged 14 to 25 in the London Borough of Haringey and neighbouring areas.
The London Mets Baseball and Softball Club learned today that it has been awarded a £9,600 grant by Sport England to help develop and expand the club’s successful youth programme for young people aged 14 to 25 in the London Borough of Haringey and neighbouring areas.
The grant will pay for equipment, uniforms, indoor training facility rental and coach development. It will allow the club to expand projects such as the six-week “Baseball for Beginners” introductory programme, set up new teams and enhance the club’s capacity to introduce the sport in local schools and through summer and holiday play schemes. The grant will also help the club keep older youth players playing by setting up a dedicated Under-20 team with new uniforms and new training options.
Mark Mullins, London Mets Chair, said, “This is great news for the club and for local young people. We are already teaching baseball and softball in schools around the area and this money will be vital to expanding and improving that effort to reach and attract more local young people and keep them playing sport. This is an exciting time for sport in Finsbury Park and Haringey. We are very grateful for the confidence shown in us by Sport England and for the help given to the club by the London Borough of Haringey, Pro-Active North London and BaseballSoftballUK, the national development agency for baseball and softball.”
John Peters, London Mets Treasurer, commented, “We looked at youth coming through the programme and noticed that 16 to 20 was a particularly difficult age to retain players in the club – the transition from youth to adult sport, combined with balancing school, work and a social life, deterred a lot of talented young players. This grant will be crucial to keeping youth active in sport by offering them a dedicated team for their age group and additional training options, making them life-long athletes.”
The London Mets is a youth and adult baseball and softball club based in Finsbury Park, North London in the London Borough of Haringey. The club is open to players of all ages and ability levels all year round. Prospective players should visit www.londonmets.org for more information on how to join.