By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

DON’T Blink Week got off to a rousing start yesterday at the Andre Rodgers Stadium with a kids baseball and softball skills clinic followed by a celebrity softball game getting this week’s festivities started.

The kids’ clinic was organised by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) with Don’t Blink and Players Way collaborating to aid in the development of youth in The Bahamas.

Tony Clark, executive director of the MLBPA, was grateful for the collaboration between Don’t Blink and the MLBPA along with the potential opportunities it can bring.

“We are grateful for an opportunity to be here, thanks for coming out today and bringing our next generation of ball players. As an organisation our commitment is to the well-being of the game, our player fraternity, that’s the past, present and future and that is why we are excited to be here alongside Todd Isaacs Sr and Jr, Lucius and Don’t Blink. The great work that has been done over the last six years and will continue to be done moving forward,” Clarke said.

The Don’t Blink Home Run Derby was first started in 2018 by childhood friends Todd Isaacs Jr and Lucius Fox. Since its inception nearly six years ago, the baseball extravaganza has grown to astronomical heights which was apparent yesterday when more than 200 kids attended the baseball and softball clinic.

The MLBPA executive director is hopeful that the partnership between Don’t Blink and Players Way can continue beyond this.

“We are hopeful in the years to come that we can continue to have a presence in support of Don’t Blink and the programming around it. A lot of that programming that we hope to be involved with both here in The Bahamas and beyond, it is gonna be focused on teaching and development of the game in the next generation. It is also gonna be in support of the coaches and encouraging and equipping them to continue to breathe into the next generation. We are excited about the opportunity to be here and support Dont Blink and the vision that they have had for baseball here in The Bahamas. We are excited about what it is gonna look like, not just today but also tomorrow,” he said.

Fox and Isaacs, co-founders of the “The Greatest Show on Sand”, both got their starts in Nassau, Bahamas but had to move abroad to pursue their baseball aspirations.

Now with the chance to bring those opportunities back home, Isaacs talked about the pros of being partnered with Players Way.

“The benefit of the partnerships that we have this week with the MLBPA, Players Trust, Players Way and also Players Alliance, it just goes to show the strength in unity. Collaboration is the best thing, when you bring several different heads in baseball together it creates possibilities that you didn’t even know existed. Being here today with this kids’ camp, in the beginning we did not know it would grow into something like this. We did not know that it would have grown at this rate being able to bring down the MLPBA to be a part of this event,”

“It just goes to show in year six what is to come in the future. The future is bright, the future is endless. We just want to continue to push the narrative to just show the world what we have to offer in The Bahamas. We are no different than anyone else in the baseball community and just want to show the kids what is possible. We are starting to change the game, make the game a little bit more exciting, showing the game and our country in a new light,” he said.

Next up on the schedule of events will be the Don’t Blink/ Minority Baseball Prospects Futures Showcase in Paradise 5pm today at the Andre Rodgers Stadium.

The Bahamian minority baseball prospects expected to compete are Edwin Darville, Tavano Baker, Alex Eneas, Dave Neely, Lamar Sealy, Tejahri Wilson, Teron Davis, Amari Burrows, Lorenzo Stevenson Jr, Chamont Barry and Aden Taylor.

“With the showcase that we are hosting tomorrow with the minority baseball prospects it was something that Lucius and I talked about years ago, wanting to do a tournament around the event to provide an opportunity for the kids that are coming behind us, an opportunity that we did not have. Lucius and I both had moved off to high school in the United States where we had to be away from our families just to chase a chance of having the opportunity to being professional baseball players.

“For us to be here today with these partnerships and now having a showcase in The Bahamas, us as Bahamians not having to travel to the US but the US coming here to the Bahamas and the kids getting to see and experience The Bahamas for the first time.

“At that age it just continues to set lights off and opens their minds to what is out there in the world.

“The impact that is gonna have on them is gonna last forever just like it did for us,” Isaacs said.

The week of festivities will lead up to the Don’t Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise 1pm December 9 at Fort Montagu Beach.