THE ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENTS

Breaking Barriers Instructional Clinic

The Breaking Barriers camp offers young baseball players an opportunity to build and enhance their baseball skills and fundamentals on the field and develop character and leadership skills off the field.

The camp is hosted by L.E.A.D. Co-founder and former Chicago Cubs outfielder C.J. Stewart and student-athletes from Atlanta Public Schools who are members of the L.E.A.D. Ambassador Program.

The camps take place each summer, offering each participant group instruction by skill level to reinforce and build upon existing baseball-specific skills. The curriculum focuses on hitting and fielding, instructional competitive games, and critical thinking skills training. For more advanced players, the curriculum includes a focus on proper pitching mechanics as many of our players transition to “kid-pitch” in their leagues.

During each week of the camp, L.E.A.D. coaches will use baseball to teach leadership skills that will translate off the field. The ultimate goal is to empower the younger players (the camp participants) with skills while building on the children’s passion and love of the game. The camps are the proven model of the on-site clinics that will take place prior to the exhibition games along the tour.

THE OTHER BOYS OF SUMMER/ TUMBLEWEED PICTURES

Led by Lauren Meyer, an Emmy nominated director with over 20 years in the business. Lauren’s passion for sharing personal stories and shining a spotlight on the underdog was acknowledged with a 2017 Emmy Award nomination.

Her work has aired on dozens of TV networks, cable channels and digital platforms. Lauren began filming The Other Boys of Summer as a passion project in 2007 when she realized if she didn’t go and interview the players now, their personal stories would be lost forever.

In a time where civil rights are in headlines daily, Lauren is more determined than ever to show a different perspective to civil rights in America. The Other Boys of Summer is a triumphant story focusing on how, with perseverance and grace, these unsung American heroes changed baseball and changed America.

The Annual Safe At Home Game

Now in its 8th year, the annual Safe at Home Game brings together Atlanta’s inner city high school baseball players (the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors) with officers of the Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Public Schools Police Department and Georgia Tech Police Department, and Deputies from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office for a 7-inning, selfofficiated baseball game. The purpose is to create an environment of competition, trust and respect between two communities who often struggle to find common ground, and to open lines of communication where they are most needed.

The Safe at Home Game is an annual event for the community that has proven to be more than just a game. As envisioned by its founders, the game has succeeded in opening lines of communication, fostering mutual understanding and establishing individual bonds between the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors and Atlanta’s law enforcement on AND off the field.

PARTNERS & SPONSORS

Bally Sports South (BSSO) is the exclusive media partner for the Tour. BSSO is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports Networks. The network carries regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events from across the Southern United States along with other sporting events and programming from Bally Sports. Bally Sports South is available on cable providers throughout Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. It is also available nationwide on satellite via DirectTV.

adidas, a long time high-value corporate partner of L.E.A.D., has committed to serving as a presenting partner and official apparel supplier for the L.E.A.D. Barnstorming Tour. They will be collaborating on content creation and social media promotion, utilizing their assets, including selected college and professional athletes to promote the Tour and its important messaging. This active and ongoing support of the Tour will deliver additional visibility to our host cities and our other sponsors, expanding the reach of the Tour’s messaging and engaging tens of thousands of people within a diverse target demographic.

Cheryl Preheim is a weekday morning anchor on 11Alive Morning News. As a journalist, Cheryl is a strong advocate for strengthening our communities by directly addressing and overcoming the barriers of systemic racism. She has been honored with the prestigious National Edward R. Murrow award three times for individual work; and twice for her part in team coverage. She has received 18 Emmy Awards, including Emmy Awards for the Southeast’s Best Anchor 4 consecutive years: 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Cheryl and 11Alive will be providing feature and streaming coverage of the L.E.A.D. Barnstorming Tour, which will emphasize the importance of community partners in their coverage.