Columbia, MD – Baseball Factory announced today a partnership with Howard County Youth Program (HCYP) to become their Official Player Development Partner across all Baseball levels of the organization. All HCYP baseball athletes from recreational to travel teams will now have access to Baseball Factory’s proven model of player development to improve their on-field skills and provide opportunities to play travel, high school and college baseball. This is the first league-wide partnership ever for Baseball Factory and presents HCYP players with exclusive player development and recruiting opportunities nationwide.

HCYP Raider Travel Commissioner Ed Manekin is extremely excited about this new relationship, saying, “Baseball Factory is a local organization with national presence that will provide our players and their families the expertise in this space to enhance an already great experience for the Raider Family.  We are pleased that we will be able to offer a tiered development tool box for our Raiders to improve their skills and ability to play at the travel level, high school and college, if desired. No matter what the ‘next level’ is, preparation for that next step will provide the confidence to optimally attack that challenge.”

Baseball Factory’s new initiative with HCYP will focus on bringing their national model of player development to HCYP players and coaches in Maryland. On the baseball player side, Baseball Factory will offer all HCYP athletes a skills assessment and athletic evaluation recognized as the gold standard by college coaches across America. This battery of 11 tests measures both on-field skills and overall athletic development and helps identify each player’s unique strengths as well as areas for improvement. Baseball Factory’s top-notch scouts will provide each player with a roadmap designed to enhance their game. Each player will receive Factory-certified videos for continued player development over their years as a Raider. This video process can also be used in college recruiting for Raider players. The players will also have access to The Factory’s wide range of college recruiting modules and seminars designed to educate players and parents on what it really takes to play ball in college.

Led by Baseball Factory’s world-class roster of coaches, the program also includes training for HCYP coaches of all levels, with enhanced education for the travel team coaches held each year at Baseball Factory’s National Training Center in Columbia, MD. Players will also receive exclusive discounts on Under Armour Baseball Factory player development events.

“This is a great partnership for both organizations, because we share similar missions of growing great people not just great players. I grew up in Howard County, and that’s why Baseball Factory was founded here. The ability to help so many players in our backyard is a dream come true,” said Baseball Factory Founder and CEO Steve Sclafani.

A long-time strategic partner of Under Armour, Baseball Factory will extend preferred pricing on uniforms, spirit-wear, apparel and accessories to HCYP teams and families. Moving forward, every HCYP Raiders team will be outfitted in new Under Armour uniforms from head-to-toe, further enhancing the value of this partnership.

About Baseball Factory, Inc.

Baseball Factory has developed programs to provide players with world-class instruction and life-changing experiences, which when combined, lead to future success both on and off the field. Baseball Factory holds over 600 events nationwide each year in all 50 states and over 150 cities. We pride ourselves on giving families an unbiased assessment of where they stand against other players nationwide. Baseball Factory events have featured more than 500 players who have played or are currently playing in the Majors and over 100,000 players have gone on to play at the college level. 100% of Division I, 100% of Division II and 96% of Division III programs have at least one Baseball Factory alumnus on their roster. Learn more at http://baseballfactory.com/

About Howard County Youth Program

Located in Ellicott City, MD; HCYP Raiders baseball is the premier travel baseball program of central Maryland.  Travel programs are offered for student athletes for ages 8U through 19U. The HCYP Raiders travel baseball program strives to develop young people into successful athletes and leaders with character and a passion for excellence, both in baseball and in life, by focusing on five core principles:  competition, individual development, teamwork, sportsmanship and respect, and leadership. The Raiders have won 6 National Championships and have placed hundreds of players in college baseball and many players into professional baseball. Learn more at http://hcypraiders.org/