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Thirteen-year-old Cody Prince doesn’t normally look forward to the cold weather creeping into southern Germany. But Cody knows that the fall season also designates the beginning of the highly successful KMC Ambassadors baseball and softball program.
For the first time, Cody will be training with the juniors (13 to 14 years old).
“I have attended the program for the last five years because my dad is a coach but this year will be my first year on the big field, so I’m really looking forward to that” Cody said.
Jacob Van Parys added, “Even though we just returned from the Little League World Series, I can’t wait to get started.”
“Ambassadors is a program that was designed to develop fundamental skills, to teach teamwork and to broaden the players understanding of the game,” said Master Sgt. Ed Prince, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs.
Sergeant Prince is the president of the Ambassadors and was also the manager for Team Europe at the Little League World Series.
This will be the sixth year he has been involved in the program.
“The kids that come to the practices have a great attitude and desire to improve which makes coaching fun. The extra time and instruction makes a huge difference when All-stars comes around,” Sergeant Prince said.
Ambassadors isn’t just for baseball – it also provides instruction in girls softball.
“We provide young ladies the opportunity to improve their softball skills during the off-season. We focus on the techniques and mechanics that will help players throw, hit and catch in a style that will benefit them as they progress in the sport,” said Capt. Randy Pletzer, head coach of the softball program. “We also work on physical conditioning and stretching to ensure safety to help protect the girls from injury. The techniques we use have been taught for the last four years and it’s proven beneficial as we’ve sent five KMC All-star softball teams to the world series in three different divisions. Many of the girls that compete on the All-star teams got their start in Ambassadors.”
“I can’t wait to get started. I played on the girls Majors All-star team that lost regionals down in Italy,” Bailey Prince said. “I wish I had been more involved in the Ambassadors practices last year. It may have helped us against Holland, Italy and Poland.”
KMC Ambassadors is open to all Department of Defense dependents in Germany between the ages of 8 and 18. The program offers training and instruction in both softball and baseball. Sign-ups for baseball will be held at noon Sunday at the Ramstein southside baseball field. Specific practice times will be announced during sign-ups. Softball registration has already started, but you can still sign up.
Veteran Matt Zembraski knows it all pays off the next year.
“We practice throughout the fall, winter and spring and even play in a couple of tournaments at different locations throughout Germany and Europe,” he said. “I know the extra reps will help us continue to improve and hopefully take us to the Junior League World Series next year.”
For information regarding the KMC Ambassadors program, call Sergeant Prince at 0173-465-0668 or e-mail tecab242628@yahoo.com.
For information about the KMC Ambassador Softball program, contact Captain Pletzer at 06372-507-407 or e-mail randyplet@juno.com.
