GB Baseball joins top table of high performance sport

World Baseball Classic bound GB Baseball were delighted to accept the invitation to attend UK Sport PLx 2022 for the first ever time.

Drew Spencer, Head Coach and Programme Leader for GB Baseball joined Gary Anderson BSUK’s Head of Performance, Colin Barrett, BSUK Performance Pathway Manager and BSUK Pathway Performance Coach Alyson Spinas-Valainis at the event.

PLx is UK Sport’s annual high-performance conference, which took place in Manchester this year, and provides an opportunity for performance leaders in sport to connect, develop and learn from each other.

“It’s difficult to put the PLx experience into words. It was really incredible being in that environment, where we were able to share our knowledge, experiences and plans with the people who are directly involved with Great Britain’s success on the biggest sporting stages in the world was something that will stay with me forever,” said Great Britain Baseball Head Coach & Programme Manager Drew Spencer.

“It was inspiring to be able to interact with and be inspired by World Champions and Olympic Gold medalists like Dame Katherine Grainger, highly respected Performance Directors, and coaches from every corner of Team GB.

“It is through opportunities like PLx that we will build the platform for baseball that will see us achieve our goals of success in the long term. I felt both honoured to be part of it and am truly grateful to Gary Anderson and the team at BSUK who made this possible.”

Gary Anderson, BSUK’s Head of Performance said, “This was the 21st edition of this event and having attended in the early years, it has become a highlight of my year. The opportunity to meet with inspirational people and listen to such brilliant stories allows me to continue to learn about this ever changing world of high-performance,”

“I was immensely proud of my colleagues who attended from baseball and softball and how they now feel to be part of the UK High-Performance Sporting system,” he added.

The 2022 event was the 21st annual conference, and featured speakers, coaches, and performance staff from across the UK, with the 2022 PLx Awards taking place on the first night of the conference.

This is the first time that GB Baseball and BSUK have taken part in PLx, an indication of the rise of baseball and softball in the UK over recent years, especially at the high-performance level.

Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair at UK Sport, said, “As the year draws to a close, I look forward to what’s ahead and I’m sure 2023 will be filled with more inspiring performances both on and off the field of play.”