A member of the minor-league Williamsport Crosscutters takes a moment out of pre-game batting practice to take a photo with South African visitor Luwayne du Plessis.

Eleven youth baseball coaches from South Africa came across nearly every level of baseball played in the United States during a three-week program hosted by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The delegation from South Africa, composed of seven men and four women from across all regions of the country, learned about playing, coaching, and the business of baseball from a wide range of perspectives. As coaches with widely varied backgrounds, the delegation brought a lot to the program while being very open to learning about the American approach.

The program, which ran from July 12-August 1, included a full week of personal instruction at Cal Ripken, Jr.’s Baseball Academy in Aberdeen, Maryland, followed by a week of the participants coaching young campers. While in Maryland, the group interacted with current and former high school and college coaches and took in games of the Minor League Aberdeen Ironbirds and the Major League Baltimore Orioles.

The middle week of the program found the group traveling to observe baseball as it was taught to diverse audiences and using different methodologies. While in Washington, DC, the delegation was able to visit MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. Said South African participant Yvonne Schalk, the RBI program “had to use tools to get kids interested and off the streets, and I had just assumed everyone was into baseball.” The delegation then traveled to Williamsport, PA for a two-day introduction to all aspects of Little League Baseball – from camps and administration, to history, the Little League World Series, and the direction of future international growth. The trip culminated in a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, during which the coaches were able to pull together their baseball experiences with the history of the United States.

During the final week, the South Africans returned to Aberdeen to lead drills that combined both what they had learned in the United States and what they knew from their own experience teaching baseball at home. On the final day of the program the group met with American Public Diplomacy Envoy Cal Ripken Jr. to talk about spreading the game of baseball throughout South Africa in anticipation of his own trip there in spring 2009. The participants also ran through batting drills with Mr. Ripken and sat down with him over lunch and dinner.

Even after being away from home for three weeks, the coaches had enjoyed themselves and learned so much that they didn’t want to leave: said Stuart Marais, "I’m already thinking about how to get back here." It looks like this program hit one out of the park.