The Leading Off Foundation partners with Sheriff PAL to help infuse much needed support, equipment, and performance training facilities into baseball for the youth of Pontiac, MI. Just outside of Detroit, the city of Pontiac has been without a publicly available youth baseball league since 2011, and has not fielded a high school varsity team since 2016.
All of that began to change when Sheriff PAL, a non-profit primarily funded by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, pioneered a four-team under-10 city league in summer 2023 at no cost to players or coaches. Played at the newly developed Pontiac High School athletics complex, the league enrolled over 50 players in its first 7-game season, with plans for expansion in 2024.
Leading Off Foundation jumped at an opportunity to partner with Sheriff PAL and the school district of Pontiac to grow this newly established league and build momentum for an eventual city-wide Little League and competitive high school program. This partnership is creating a performance training center within Pontiac High School, anchored by “The Lew Matlin Baseball Center of Excellence.” This center, available to youth of all ages in the city of Pontiac and open year round, features:
- Drop-down professional batting cage
- State of the art pitching machines
- Turf infield
This space will be available for additional sports training, including football, soccer, yoga, dance, and more.
A year-round performance training facility helps build both competitive sports programs, community relationships, and most importantly, healthy kids.
