Junior Braves Baseball
The Junior Braves/RBI Youth Baseball League sponsored by Delta offers over 2000 youth ages 5-18 the opportunity to play baseball. Teams are formed in underserved neighborhoods where recreation programs are most needed.
Now in its 4th season, the Junior Braves/RBI Youth Baseball League has expanded to include more than 20 teams from the Metro Atlanta YMCA, creating a community partnership between the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, the Metro Atlanta YMCA, and Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI). The Junior Braves Youth Baseball League is an outreach program designed to increase minority youth participation and interest in baseball, encourage academic participation and achievement, develop self-esteem and teach the value of teamwork.
League play begins in April and concludes in August with an All-Star Game at Turner Field. Throughout the season games are played at the Atlanta Braves Baseball Academy and Boys & Girls Club and YMCA locations across metro Atlanta.
Jr. Braves Baseball Player and Coach of the Week
The Junior Braves/RBI Youth Baseball League sponsored by Delta looks for players and coaches who show great teamwork and leadership on and off the field. Every week the Jr. Braves choose a player and coach who showed the most respect, leadership, teamwork and heart throughout the week.
Michael Wilson
Michael has been chosen as the first ever YMCA Jr. Braves Player of the Week. He was chosen for his leadership on and off the field.
Kobe Brown
Kobe has been chosen for YMCA Jr. Braves Player of the Week for his teamwork ability. Kobe is always willing to help out his fellow teammates.
Braylon Baker
Braylon Baker has been chosen for YMCA Jr. Braves Player of the Week for the respect that he shows his coaches, teammates and friends.
Malik Foreman
Malik Foreman has been chosen for YMCA Jr. Braves Player of the Week for working hard and being an exceptional baseball player, but also for working hard and having respect off of the field.
Bernardo Baker Jr.
Bernardo Baker Jr. has been chosen for YMCA Jr. Braves Player of the Week for his ability to have a full grasp of what teamwork is.
Atlanta author Martha Payne, a former columnist for the Braves' magazine
ChopTalk, is donating half of all proceeds raised from sales of her new book,
Put Him In, Coach! A Mother's All-Star Memoir to the Junior Braves/RBI League. A long-time advocate of youth baseball and eye-witness to the decreased participation of disadvantaged youth in the game, Payne was drawn to Junior Braves/RBI League not only because of her passion for baseball and the Braves, but by the values upheld by the Junior Braves' program, which challenges boys and girls to play their best on the field while also staying in school and becoming leaders of good character.
To learn more about
Put Him In, Coach! and its connection to the Junior Braves, visit www.marthapayne.com or go to the following site for media coverage: http://www.neighbornewspapers.com/articles/2007/10/11/323/10277710.txt
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