Department of State/Department of Defense Panama-Nicaragua Baseball Initiative

A SportsUnited clinic participant gets pointers on how to throw a baseball from a SOUTHCOM coach.
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The joint U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Defense’s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) baseball initiative scored big in Panama and Nicaragua April 21 – May 7, 2008.  Partnering with Major League Baseball (MLB), the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) sent former MLB player Elias Sosa as a Sports Envoy to Panama and Nicaragua to join the SOUTHCOM All-Star Baseball Team on their Friendship Baseball Tour and to conduct baseball clinics for youth. 

Before the SOUTHCOM team arrived, Sosa visited 5 cities April 22 - 26, conducting baseball clinics for coaches, umpires and young players that reached over 600 Panamanians in total. Thanks to MLB and the Pitch In For Baseball Foundation, Sosa and the U.S. Embassy of Panama donated four team baseball kits to various underprivileged communities in a great display of public-private partnership.

Upon arrival in Panama, the SOUTHCOM team played two games: one against a Panamanian police all-star team and another against professionals from the Panamanian national league, the latter drawing a crowd of 8,000. Additionally, the entire delegation made a donation to the Panama Lions Club (supporters of Panamanian youth baseball) of equipment provided by MLB. Highlighting the entire visit was a clinic taught by the SOUTHCOM All-Star team and Sports Envoy Sosa for more than 500 young Panamanian ballplayers.

SOUTHCOM All-Stars, Sports Envoy Elias Sosa (center, white hat) , members of the Panama Lions Club, and SportsUnited participants pose for a photo before the start of an exhibition game in Panama.

From Panama, the tour continued on to Nicaragua where the SOUTHCOM Baseball Team and Sosa were able to involve over 6,500 Nicaraguans through clinics and baseball games – making this public diplomacy program one of the largest and most successful in Nicaragua in recent history. Sosa and the SOUTHCOM players led three clinics for youth between the ages of 8 and 18 in various cities across the country.  At each clinic, Sosa emphasized that, "the focus of the program is on the youth, with the goals of improving their communities, making them better citizens and therefore helping them improve their own country."  

The entire program received a very positive local and national response.  After the two and a half week tour was over, it was clear that the effect of Sosa’s visit was felt beyond just those swinging the bats. One Panamanian Embassy representative remarked, “Elias has turned in another stellar performance, inspiring everyone, including me.”