What a ride 2021 has been. The beginning of a New Year gives us all the opportunity to reflect on the past year’s successes and get excited about what is coming up in the next. We have the chance to figure out what went wrong, how we want to better ourselves, and how we can build on our successes. We get to figure out what we want to do better and how we can become better people. It also lets us remember what we are thankful for, whether the fantastic people in our lives or our experiences throughout the year.
So much changed for Major League University in 2021. We all at MLU have so much to be thankful for and have many exciting things to look forward to in 2022.
2021 Major League University Highlights
Major League University Growing: MLU as a business grew tenfold in 2021. We saw so many more opportunities to impact the lives of young athletes across the board. The best part of our growth is we haven’t lost sight of our mission to impact one million athletes. The expansion will only give us more opportunities to provide resources to young athletes who can’t afford them and provide the mental skills to many athletes to handle the mental pressures in baseball and life.
Project Sandlot: Thanks to the great mind and hard work of Ray McIntire, MLU started the process to launch its very own NFT project called Project Sandlot. This NFT project will help us expand our reach to youth athletes worldwide. The primary mission of Project Sandlot will be to create our Sandlot Fund, which will provide opportunities to underprivileged youth to attend sports camps in communities that don’t have the resources to offer them. The project will also donate proceeds to two amazing charities, the Roberto Clemente Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club.
Amazing New Podcast Guests: Our Champions School podcast grew like crazy in 2021. We had so many new amazing guests, including current and former Major League baseball players like Ryan O’Hearn and Tyler Zuber of the Kansas City Royals and Ty Buttrey, formerly of the Los Angeles Angels, and now runs a fantastic organization called Behind the Lights with his wife, Sam. We also had other fabulous guests, including mental performance coaches, youth coaches, and even ESPN College Baseball Analyst Mike Rooney! We hope to expand the list of guests we have in 2022 to provide you with more amazing stories from a wide variety of athletes and coaches. We hope to branch outside of baseball to cover other sports, interview more softball coaches, and increase the number of female athletes.
Working with LSU Baseball: I remember starting this business in 2018 with very little direction and planning, just a burning passion for positively impacting people. To say it was challenging is an understatement. We faced plenty of no’s, gridlock administrations, and many challenges with getting someone to allow us to do what we do. Today, we have the chance to work with the Perfect Game Pre-Season Number 4 team in the country. The SEC does things differently from all ends of the game. Their facilities are top-notch, the coaches are incredible, and the atmosphere is electric. This was an excellent experience for us as a team because we saw that regardless of the level of expertise, all student-athletes need help mentally. We are blessed to work with the Tigers Baseball Program and provide mental skills that will pay off on and off the field (From Austin Byler).
Alaska: We have been working with the Wasilla High School Baseball program for the last two months now, and it has been an absolute blast. Coach Ken Ottinger and his coaching staff do an incredible job preparing their athletes for what is to come at the next level and getting their players to college. Our team is blessed to work with such a progressive, positive and motivating program that is hungry for more mindset and leadership philosophies. Major League University looks forward to traveling to Alaska this summer and kicking off the school year for the town of Wasilla!
Reach in Australia: We get to extend our reach to the lands of Australia through an amazing connection, Riley Moore, former University of Arizona Catcher. This will be an excellent opportunity to spread our brand mission internationally. Riley does a fantastic job preparing and equipping his athletes for the collegiate level, and we are excited to provide the mental aspect for his athletes. Zoom has been a significant contributor to our growth, providing us the opportunity to work with athletic programs remotely.
College Summer Baseball Team in Wyoming: Major League University is now the official co-owner of the Gem City Bison, a Collegiate Summer Baseball Team in the Independence Baseball League. This is a new league founded by Chuck Heeman and his wife Mayra, our former GM in Klamath Falls, Oregon, our first experience with summer ball. We saw this as an opportunity to bring an exciting, positive experience to the town of Laramie. Our goal is to provide family-fun entertainment for the city of Laramie and to prepare college athletes for their upcoming seasons and future professional aspirations. This will allow us an opportunity to positively impact a community and provide a summer experience for our players. The team will start their season May 24 in Casper, Wyoming, against the Casper HorseHeads.
Personal 2021 Highlights
Austin Byler: This past year has been incredible for my business and personal life. My fiance and I got engaged in Sedona, AZ, at our favorite winery Page Springs. As a business, we have experienced a ton of positive momentum and growth from all angles. One of the things that I am most proud of is our commitment to empowering youth athletes. Whether it is a college speaking engagement or hosting a youth baseball camp, our team has done an amazing job inspiring and encouraging the next generation of leaders. Major League University has experienced some personal growth by adding Jared Perkins to the staff and Steve Guberti as an assistant camp coordinator. We are blessed and grateful for an amazing 2021 and are looking forward to a prosperous 2022 full of new memories, experiences, and growth!
Ray McIntire: We have been growing so much over the last year. I was able to make a move to join Major League University full time, so that was the biggest one for me. We have had a significant theme of continuing to show up. Whether we absolutely crush an event in a community or get steamrolled entirely, we have committed to keep trying. That has served us well. I also was fortunate to work with the UC Davis baseball team as a coach for the fall while they found a full-time head coach, which was an incredible experience. Lastly and certainly not least, I just spent two years married to Eva, and this year was every bit as great as the last!
Jared Perkins: One of the biggest highlights in 2021 for me is having the opportunity to join Austin and Ray with Major League University. Raising awareness for mental health and destigmatizing mental health has been one of the main missions in my life. The chance to do this for young athletes and youth in general everywhere drives me to do what I do every single day. Writing about mental health and joining the podcast to help share the journey of so many amazing people brings me so much joy and purpose. The second highlight of 2021 is having my partner Ciara Beaulieu come into my life. Her love and support every single day bring me so much light, even in the darkest days.
What is to Come in 2022?
Impacting One Million Athletes: Our mission will never change, no matter the year. We will continue to try and impact one million athletes through top-tier mindset and leadership training. We hope to provide even more athletes with a healthy foundation for success in life. We want every athlete and person to become the best version of themselves. Not just on the field but off the field with their character and personal development.
Project Sandlot Launch: The NFT project we discussed earlier launched on January 5, 2022! We are so excited about this project and it will expand our reach tenfold. The opportunity to provide resources to underprivileged communities so that every youth athlete has the chance to play the sport they love brings us so much drive. This NFT project will hopefully let us achieve that goal.
Expanding Our Reach: We will be aiming to expand our reach to even more athletes across the United States in 2022. Although our backgrounds are in baseball, we want to expand our reach to many other sports—athletes across the board struggle with mental health battles due to the increased pressures of competition. Mental health also impacts athletes and humans, regardless of race, ethnicity, or background. With the youth mental health crisis developing across the United States, we want to have the mental skills we teach athletes applicable to all youth fighting their own mental health battles. We also hope to provide more camps for FREE to underserved urban and rural communities.
Expand Our Staff: As Major League University grows, we also hope to grow our staff. We want to bring individuals who have the mission and drive to impact those around them—those who are inspired by serving others and building long-lasting relationships. Goals are not achieved overnight. You have to start by building your foundation to help you achieve those goals. The more like-minded people we can bring in to help us on this journey, the more people in need we can reach. Be on the lookout for some potential staffing additions in 2022!
Finally, we have to thank you for your support and grinding with us! Major League University would not be where it is today without its supporters. All of you are what drives us every single day to do what we do. The times that we see we have impacted just one person or changed their mindset about mental health gives us the energy to keep pushing forward even when things seem like they might get tough. From all of us at Major League University, we wish you a Happy New Year and nothing but success as you keep on your journey to achieving your goals!
