Go back to new day northwest.
If your child dreams of being the
next Julio Rodriguez or Cal Raleigh,
there is exciting news.
The Mariners are partnering with a youth
sports company to get high quality training.
To kids. To more kids.
And joining me now is Jameel Kante
with E L1 sports. Welcome to new day.
Thanks for being here.
Thank you for having me.
Well, you have just hit the
home run of partnership.
Absolutely.
Tell me about the mission of El
one sports and how the mirrors
are gonna help you expand.
Absolutely.
Well, you don't want sports.
It is a national training company
that was created by athletes,
coaches and educators who believe
in a transformative power sport.
So we offer expert level training and
a suite of administrative services
all in support of the community.
Baseball, softball, leagues,
tournaments, the whole 9,
so we are so excited to be able to.
Be here and express just extreme
gratitude for this opportunity.
That's incredible because sports,
you know, you think as a kid, I mean,
maybe when you and I were growing up,
it was at school. We could do it.
It is so inaccessible now. It is.
It's so hard. Like, first of all,
trying to find out when everything is,
but then paying for the uniforms,
all of the things.
And not to mention,
if you live in a place like Seattle,
it's not easy to be outside playing
sports like we did as kids.
So being able to practice indoors,
out of the rain, that is huge.
What sets these facilities.
Parts from let's say like
the indoor batting cages.
Yes. The first thing that comes to
mind is that we have men and women
of influence who walk consistently
with the athletes that come in.
There is a batting open cage
facility element to it where families
and athletes can just come in.
But for the most part we offer
a progressive best training,
progressive based training model and
really that consistent mentorship
with men and women who have played
the sports at the highest level,
which is so important because.
This is where you start to get
that love of the game, right?
Absolutely, 100%. You know,
because of this partnership,
the Mariners, there will be
free clinics and camps now,
correct? So we're going to have an
array of services for the community.
This is an inclusive partnership,
meaning that we want everyone,
no matter the skill level,
no matter how long you've been playing,
no matter if this is your first time,
we want you in the facilities.
And so we have programming
that's going to be for all kids.
At all times of the day,
whether you know it's gonna be free,
there are some paid programming,
but essentially we want this to
be an inclusive environment for
kids and athletes and parents.
Why are you so passionate about
helping bridge that access and
equity gap in our community?
You said a little bit earlier,
when we were younger, we played everywhere.
And so now with the rain and with this
weather, there's not a lot of access to
fields that are that are sustainable.
So I was a kid who fell in
love with baseball. I was,
I slept with my glove at night. I I did.
I had a Lucinda was a gloves name
Lucinda, 100% named it named
Lucinda. And the older I got,
the more difficult it was
and it became more expensive.
Every step of the way until I was
eventually priced out of the game.
I want to eliminate that side of my story.
It's important because baseball,
softball, and just the team karate
what you learned of social,
emotional learning,
these are skills that you can take
with you for the rest of your life.
100% these are the things you learn
are what build that foundation
absolutely can have success.
Absolutely. Last question.
Why do you think the Mariners are
taking such an interest in youth
development specifically. We have
been talking with the Mariners for
years now and as we've grown in our
business and diversity inclusion has
become more of the forefront of sports.
And and the Mariners speaking
they're great partners.
They want kids to be able to play
and be a part of this great game.
So we're working with community partners
such as baseball beyond borders.
By the hometown nine.
And the Mariners have had their arms
wrapped around some of these groups.
So now we were partnering together
to bolster those opportunities.
And so I believe that's really
the key in all of this.
Well, thanks to the Mariners,
but thank you to sports.
We're growing the love of this game
and all the other games. Absolutely.
It was a pleasure to meet you.
Tell Lucinda I said hi.
You still have Lucinda. I do not.
Ohh. Lucinda. Ohh. My gosh.
Thank you, my friend. Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Absolutely.