The DC Grays RBI softball team will be hosting its annual 9-11 tournament again this year, with teams from across the Mid-Atlantic region participating in a two-day tournament as well as a coaches clinic and showcase.
The tournament will feature teams like Philadelphia Phillies RBI, Maryland Glory Softball, Laurel Flash softball, and the Mount Vernon (NY) Lady Knights as well as our DC Grays RBI 16U and 18U teams. (Our 16U team recently won the championship in the Softball Nation tournament in Richmond.) Games will be held in September 11-12 at the Washington Nationals Youth Academy on Ely Place SE, and Jackie Robinson Fields 1 and 2 (located behind Kimball Elementary on Minnesota Avenue SE). Our college showcase on Friday (September 10) includes coaches from Virginia State, Georgetown, Howard, UMBC, Norfolk State, Virginia Union, Washington Adventist, Bowie State, Coppin State, Morgan State and Maryland-Eastern Shore. DC Grays RBI is part of MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner cities (RBI) program. The program is run by DC Grays Baseball, an all-volunteer non-profit organization that also runs the DC Grays summer college team in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. “It is an honor to host this tournament and to play against some great teams,” said DC Grays RBI Head Softball Coach Harry Thomas. “But the coaches clinic and showcase is even more important. We want these girls to be seen by these fine coaches that represent many Division 1 programs. They deserve every opportunity to continue their softball careers in college.” If anyone is interested in finding out more about DC Grays RBI softball, they should contact Harry Thomas at [email protected] or go to www.dcgrays.com/dc-grays-rbi
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In an effort to provide kids in the District with top-notch baseball instruction throughout the year, the DC Grays RBI youth baseball/softball program has entered into a hew partnership with the St. James – a state of the art sports facility in Northern Virginia.
For a steeply discounted fee, high-school age DC Grays RBI baseball players will be able to participate in the following activities at the St. James:
DC Grays RBI coaches Brad Burris and Antonio Scott will help coach the St. James fall team in NVTBL, and will help run the weekly practices, along with St. James baseball director and former Baltimore Orioles outfielder LJ Hoes. DC Grays RBI is part of MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner cities (RBI) program. The program is run by DC Grays Baseball, an all-volunteer non-profit organization that also runs the DC Grays summer college team in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. “This will be a game-changer for the kids in our program,” said Brad Burris. “To play against good competition in the fall and get professional instruction all off-season will make all of them better players for their school teams in the spring and for our RBI schedule in the summer. We are thrilled about this partnership.” If anyone is interested in finding out more about DC Grays RBI baseball and this partnership with the St. James, they should contact Brad at [email protected] or go to www.dcgrays.com/dc-grays-rbi More information about baseball at the St. James can be found at www.thestjames.com/sports/baseball In early August, representatives of the DC Grays served as baseball consultants for the cast and staff of the play “Toni Stone”, which opens a 30-plus day run at Arena Stage starting Friday, September 3 and running through Sunday, October 3.
“Toni Stone” is a play based upon the true story of the title character, who was the first woman to play professional baseball with men, playing with the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues back in the 1950’s. Arena Stage reached out to the DC Grays to get assistance working with the actors and staff to add realism and authenticity to the baseball movements in the play. DC Grays General Manager Chris Spera, 2021 Grays player and DC native Jake Davidson and 2012 Grays alumni Cory Spera all spent a busy afternoon on August 8 with “Toni Stone” director Pam MacKinnon and Stage Manager Elisa Guthertz and the entire nine-person cast. “We started out with the cast as a group, then split into stations, almost like a youth clinic, with one of us working with a group of actors on swinging a bat, one of us working on throwing motion and one of us working on fielding mechanics,” Chris Spera said. “The actors rotated through all three stations. The actors took this very seriously and were really interested in the authenticity of their movements, asking very specific questions and requesting multiple demonstrations. It was extremely interesting approaching the mechanics of the sport from the visual arts perspective instead of the performance coaching perspective.” After spending several hours on the mechanics of playing baseball, the cast asked the Grays reps to watch them run through some scenes so they could see how they applied what they had learned in the context of the actual play. “We are so thankful for the Grays assisting us in our preparations,” stage manager Elisa Guthertz said. “All three of them – Chris, Cory and Jake – were so informative and helpful to both the actors and production staff.” In the finest DC Grays tradition, DC Grays gear was presented to the entire cast.” More information about “Toni Stone”, as well as ticketing information, is available at https://www.arenastage.org/tickets/2021-22-season/toni-stone/. |
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