OUT OF BOUNDS: Floyd Central’s Despain set to play in Italy for America’s Team

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Floyd Central High School pitcher Derek Despain will travel to Italy later this month to compete as part of America's Team. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer

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July 4, 2012

OUT OF BOUNDS: Floyd Central’s Despain set to play in Italy for America’s Team

By MATT KOESTERS matt.koesters@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Wed Jul 04, 2012, 04:40 PM EDT

FLOYDS KNOBS — Despite being known as America’s Pastime, the game of baseball is gaining traction as an international sport.

Floyd Central’s Derek Despain is about to get to see the game from a decidedly international perspective. At the end of July, Despain will team with players from Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Indiana when he embarks on a nine-day trip as a member of America’s Team.

“I don’t know any of my teammates, but that’s just kind of a fun part of it,” Despain said. “There’s kids from Texas, Illinois — I mean, there’s kids from all over, and I don’t know any of them.”

America’s Team, a privately owned 18U travel team, is the result of a partnership with the American Council for International Studies, or ACIS, an organization that specializes in international sports tours. Founded in 1978, ACIS has coordinated trips abroad for more than half a million students, according to an America’s Team press release.

As part of America’s team, Despain — who has never left the U.S. before — will get the opportunity to travel to major cities like Rome, Milan, Venice and Florence. On some days, he and his new teammates will play doubleheaders against local teams, while on others, the team will take in the sights.

“It’s pretty overwhelming,” Despain said.

Italy has a surprisingly strong baseball following, according to Brigham Joy, owner and founder of America’s Team. While Despain and his teammates are going to have to get to know one another over a relatively short period of time, their Italian counterparts will have the advantage of familiarity.

“We play club-level teams,” Joy said. “The best way to describe that is like, your town-team baseball. The kids in Italy grow up and play on the same team ... starting at 8 years old, going up all the way to 18.”

For America’s Team, baseball is a vehicle for immersion in another culture. The team will socialize with its opponents at a barbeque after the matinee of each doubleheader, and the teams will mix — with Italians and Americans playing side-by-side — for the nightcap.

“He’ll have the opportunity not only to play against kids from Italy, but play with those guys from Italy too,” Joy said.

Although national pride will figure in, wins and losses won’t determine the success of the trip, Joy said.

“Success is when (Derek) comes home and he talks to his friends and family about what it was like stepping inside the Coliseum, and seeing the statue of David in Florence, and touring St. Peter’s — giving him and the other kids an experience that they can’t get here at home,” Joy said.