by Kevin Sypolt
kevinjan@optonline.net
ksypolt@gmail.com
Starting Thursday, Nov 13th and continuing through Wednesday, Nov 19th, Bangkok Baseball Softball Association (BBSA) is pleased to host our annual Pro Player clinics. We have 2 former minor league players who will be running free clinics for all of our players. There is no need to register for the clinics. Just show up at scheduled ISB field at the appropriate time for your student. This is a great opportunity to pick up some great baseball/softball tips from guys who have spent years around the game. Just bring your fielding glove and you can join in.
UPI is a Christian missionary group. So at the conclusion of each clinic the Pro Clinic players will have a short message to the BBSA kids about Christianity. Kids are under no obligation to stay for this part of the clinic. If you would like to know more about the UPI organization, click here to see their website.
The UPI team will consist of Tom Roy and Mickey Weston. Their biographies are as follows:
TOM ROY
Tom Roy is the President and Founder of UPI. After a very brief time in the S.F. Giants organization, Tom went on to a career in radio, taking his first job in West Virginia. Shortly after that he enrolled at Grace College in Winona Lake, IN. Upon completion of that degree he took a head baseball coaching job at a local high school for 3 years. He continued in that profession, coaching also at the college level for 9 years.
Tom and Carin reside in Winona Lake, Indiana and have two daughters, Amy and Lindsay, and 6 grandchildren (Hannah, Luke, Faith, Tommy, Sam and Lainey).
In January of 2008 he assumed the role of President/Founder and now finds himself working with the Advancement of the ministry as well as staying in contact with “UPI alumni” and caring for ballplayers through counseling.
MICKEY WESTON
Mickey Weston joined the ministry of UPI in 1996 after playing 15 years of professional baseball. He had the privilege of playing parts of five years in the majors with the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and the New York Mets from ’89-’93. He joined UPI part-time in the fall of ’96 and coached the next 3 years in the New York Mets’ minor league system. Mickey came on staff full-time in the fall of ’99 as the Associate International Director and in 2003 assumed the role as International Director.
Mickey ministered with UPI while he was a player taking his first trip overseas to South Korea in 1986. Since 1986, Mickey has worked in close to 40 different countries around the world. With a passion for different cultures and peoples, Mickey utilizes the international trips for discipleship with current and former players.
Mickey and his wife, Lisa, have 4 children ~ Erica, Kayla, Drew, and Marissa ~ all of whom have been home schooled up until high school. The Westons live in Valparaiso, IN., which is situated in Northwest Indiana and close to Chicago, where Mickey is the chaplain for the Chicago White Sox.
Pro Clinic Schedule November 2014