Óscar Nuevo Reyes, Inder’s High Performance Technical-Methodological director, began his speech by explaining the process of shaping the national baseball development strategy.
“Cuba is designing this strategy to return to the stellar plans that it had of yesteryear”he said and explained that for its elaboration a popular consultation was carried out in all the provinces on this exciting sport.
Baseball coaches, athletes, managers, referees, sports glories, supporters club members and the general public participated in this tour that took place in November 2019, who wanted to give their opinion on how to improve national sport.
Several topics were seen in the popular consultation: the sports reserve, the selection of potentialities for high performance, massiveness, the rescue of activities with the technical force of overcoming from the scientific-technical and methodological point of view, the sports infrastructure and implements, Inder – Ministry agreements of Education, among others.
According to the director of Inder, 1,611 criteria were derived from this process, which were received by email and by post. In addition, a mailbox was set up in the central body.
These approaches, he commented, were grouped into eight work areas -considered strategic directions within the project- that included 63 specific actions.
“After the tour of the country, a broader working group was formed with the participation of all specialists, baseball managers and even several institutions such as the University of Physical Culture and Sports Sciences, the Research Center of the Cuban Sports, the faculties of Physical Culture, with the presence of doctors in science, as in the case of the territories of Camagüey, Villa Clara and Granma”.
As planned, the design of the strategy was presented in January 2020, to start it in September 2021. “When the pandemic arrived, starting in March 2020, the process of returning to the provinces had to be interrupted, but not the exchange and the work of the central group, chaired by the first vice president of the organization, which met every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at the Latin American stadium.
Nuevo Reyes added that in November 2021 he returned to the provinces to explain what had been implemented, designed, what were the fundamental actions that were implemented in the strategy.
In turn, the provinces had to account for the activities carried out in that stage, such as the rescue of facilities and compliance with the requirements of the stadiums for the start of the National Series.
The eight work directions generated 10 specific strategies, defined 46 objectives, 96 indicators and 145 strategic actions. Besides, “95.3% of the proposals made in the country were answered. Only five opinions were dismissed, because they were not in line with revolutionary baseball, nor with the policy that Inder has for the practice of baseball in Cuba.”
“The fundamental thing that we saw in the second moment of exchange with the provinces was to make clear the need for three specific dimensions to be able to count on the baseball that we have in terms of results in international events: the massiveness in the municipalities, the schools and in the combined; the rescue of sports facilities, and the policy that the agency has today, which emphasizes sports implements”.
Nuevo Reyes specified that the entire comprehensive athlete preparation program was redesigned, which was previously formulated by categories and now by stages of development. In addition, research in tune with the current needs of baseball was rescued.
- Preparation systems and models were modified.
- The elements that make up the observation protocol for the selection of potentialities in high performance were restructured.
In Sports Initiation schools, he said, We must change the proportion of athletes who are from rural areas, who have very favorable somatotypical conditions.
Regarding the direction of Physical Education, the director of Inder stressed that it was possible to include sport within the curricular program of Education from fifth to twelve gradea change that began in this school year with all the methodological orientations.
“There you can play baseball five, a practice that does not require great conditions, and is a methodological alternative to traditional baseball.”
- Baseball will also be promoted in universities
In communication and information, he highlighted the exchange that the National Commission maintains with the specialized press every Monday at 2:00 pm in the Latinomericano, an agreement that came out as a result of the 60th National Series.
Warming up my muscles to start playing my baseball, here in my Pontoon area. Photo: Irene Pérez/ Cubadebate.
Inder’s High Performance Technical-Methodological Director stressed the development and recovery of the facilities, in addition to the acquisition of implements for the practice of sport.
The implementation of the strategy is conceived until 2024 with the aim that it begins to bear fruit in the next Olympic cycles. “One of the aspirations is that each province has a little baseball player, with the territory’s own resources.”
On aspects related to sports implements, he assured that Inder will continue to protect everything that has to do with the National Series and high performance, including the first link, which is the Eides.
“Each territory must achieve with its management that necessary contribution to the base. The resources to develop massiveness in the teaching process no longer run through the Federation, but through each province”.
Regarding the scientific-methodological part, a work plan was designed by the National Baseball Commission. A diploma for coaches in Latin America is currently being developed, in addition to courses, methodological workshops, of which more than three have already been developed.
“There is a strategic design in relation to specialized overcoming, in tune with the current demands of baseball.”
He pointed out that the psychological work also has a project for its updating and constant communication is maintained with the provinces about what should be done in relation to medical treatment and recovery. “All of this is contained within the strategy and is being carried out.”
Finally, he summed up the strategy for the comprehensive development of baseball brings together more than 17 documents as an annex. There is a design of actions for the formation of values in the players, and an increase in massiveness was achieved.
It was increased to more than 300 games in all categories that did not exist before, which allows for further development of the competitive system at all levels.
Nuevo Reyes commented that this was seen in the Little League championship, “a great event, where the province of Villa Clara won, specifically the municipality of Santa Clara, to which we were able to congratulate first-hand because we were in that final. ”.
He reiterated the need to point out the massiveness, the rescue of the facilities and the production of sports equipment at the local level.
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