Europe's top-ranked baseball-softball country is using Baseball5, the five-on-five urban discipline, as an additional platform to boost the game in the nation.
The Bedrocks Baseball and Softball Club in Emmen, in the eastern part of the Netherlands, recently organized a Baseball5 clinic for high school teachers.
The project was run by Erik Eilering, the recipient of the Dutch Baseball Softball Federation (KNBSB) Slugger Award 2020, which goes to outstanding contributors to the sport's development.
"Clinics for teachers are the best way to reach a large amount of youth in a short period of time," commented Eilering.
The clinic took place at the Hondsrug high school, where teachers made the most of the play-kit they received after the clinic (five official balls, a home plate, the official rulebook and materials to outline a field). The teachers then introduced Baseball5 in their classes the next day.
The clinic received the support of the National Sports Agreement (Nationaal Sportakkoord), a project implemented by the National Olympic Committee, the National Government and the National Association of Sports and Municipalities (Vereniging Sport en Gemeente).
Bedrocks won in February 2019 the first-ever Baseball5 tournament staged in the Netherlands.
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