The Pittsburgh Pirates were proud to celebrate Play Ball Weekend, presented by Nike, with a series of events around the Pittsburgh area to engage the next generation of youth athletes in the games of baseball and softball.

The festivities started on Thursday, when the organization announced its partnership with EL1 Sports, a leading sports training company and the official youth baseball and softball training partner of Major League Baseball. As part of the announcement, the Pirates and EL1 sports opened the first official Training Center, the Bianco School of Baseball, powered by the Pirates, where young athletes can level up their skills.

“This is going to be huge,” Aaron Triola, founder of EL1 Sports said. “The Pirates have been doing this for generations, 130 years they’ve been serving this community. They’ve been heavily involved in community programs for decades.”

Next up, the Pirates hosted a clinic for 200 local children ages 5-14 at PNC Park on Saturday morning. Participants had the opportunity to test their pitching skills with a radar gun, practice scooping up ground balls, and use Diamond Kinetics Swing Match technology to find out which Pirates player their swing is most like.

“PLAY BALL Weekend for us is so important, because it’s a chance for the Pirates to get in front of the whole community of Pittsburgh and bring as many kids together as possible to have them play and experience PNC Park in its fullest in front of their families,” John Leonard, Pirates manager of youth baseball and softball said.

Getting kids interested in the sport at such a young age is crucial, according to Leonard, which is why events like Saturday morning’s clinic are extremely influential in growing the games of baseball and softball in the Pittsburgh community.

“We understand there’s a huge decline in participation once boys and girls hit the age of 13, so we want to get in front of these kids early on and teach them the fundamentals and make sure they’re having fun while doing that,” Leonard said. “You never truly know how good someone’s going to be unless they keep sticking with it and play for as long as they can.”

It’s safe to say the goal of engaging these kids in the sport was achieved, and it showed through the smiles that filled their faces as they rotated between stations. Connor Stroh, who was in the 11-12 age group, loved participating in the drills, especially when the Parrott joined his pitching practice.

“Meeting a bunch of nice people and all the coaches, and just being in this nice environment -- it’s amazing,” Stroh said.

And when asked why baseball is a special sport, he added: “You can really connect with your friends and have a good time, learn some nice skills, teamwork, and really fall in love with the game.”

For parents, seeing their kids enjoy this unique experience was an indescribable feeling. Bethany Jurofcik was filled with joy as she watched her son, Ricky, interact with other kids while playing the sport he loves.

“I think that when they’re this young, just the experience is exciting to them,” Jurofcik said. “They don’t even, I think, realize what they’re enjoying down here on the field. It’s just really exciting for them. As parents, you see them all up there taking photos and videos, so they’re just as excited for them.”

To wrap up Play Ball Weekend, the Pirates immersed hundreds of local youth in the sport at the Pittsburgh Juneteenth Youth Sportsfest in Mellon Park. Participants had the opportunity to hit baseballs in a unique Pirates-branded experience, as well as through an activation set-up at No Offseason, a local training and tournament center located northeast of Pittsburgh.

“I don’t even know if you can put it into words,” Leonard said. “Just seeing the kids’ smiles and just all the excitement was a highlight of the weekend.”