Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations.
In many organizations, that would amount to little more than an empty, meaningless role.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, however, things are different at the Futures Stars Series powered by Program 15, and so too is Rob Bruno recently being appointed to that position by CEO Jeremy Booth.
Bruno has forged an extraordinarily successful career for himself in youth baseball, and rose to prominence with his NorCal program that’s widely regarded as one of the nation’s best. You don’t get to that point without taking things seriously, and that includes taking on a new gig like this one.
“I’ve spent a great deal of my life, almost half my life, in the youth baseball industry,” Bruno told FutureStarsSeries.com
“It’s going on 28 years, and I’m 59. I’ve seen this when it started up for me, I’ve seen the change, I’ve seen where it’s all gone and I don’t like it. I think we need to get back to our roots of development instead of pure showcasing. There’s nothing wrong with a showcase, we have one. But, it’s more valuable to work on the development part than to just go out there and get seen. One of the things that intrigues me with this, is we do a development day and a skills day, and those are critical to getting better at the next level…these showcases are singular and are about the individual, where my belief is the best compliment you can give a baseball player is that he’s a great teammate. That’s what’s missing now. We’ve got our priorities backwards.”
Bruno’s own experiences, as well as those of his NorCal program as a whole when attending NBBFSS/P15 events, have made it easier for him to find an avenue to help get those priorities back to where they should be for everyone involved.
“I’m doing this because of Jeremy’s vision,” Bruno said. “One of the things, being a little selfish, is that I want the best programs in the country that have the same like-mindedness as our program and the others involved now to be involved. There are more great ones out there that need to be a part of what we’re trying to do. This is really blazing a new trail. This isn’t hired guns, this is about programs that develop the right way, are like-minded and have the players interests at heart.”
With Bruno now helping facilitate those relationships, the already fast-growing NBBFSS/P15 can only continue to improve on already high standards going forward.
“It’s just going to keep getting better as word keeps getting out,” Bruno said. “My goal and my job as special assistant is pretty much what I’ve been doing the whole time; trying to align great people and great programs and helping out with establishing and making this grow by reaching out to quality organizations.”
The partnership is one that Booth and everyone at NBBFSS/P15 are grateful to have.
“Rob Bruno’s legacy is cemented,” Booth said. “He’s done a great job with the NorCal organization for a long time and the results are what they are. The impact he’s made is felt across generations now and the respect that follows is well deserved. It’s been an honor to work with him and he’s been involved here from the beginning. I’m excited to take this step with and lean on him further for partners and guidance through this world to continue to help players and the game.”
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