As part of a weekly series of stories leading up to the Program 15 New Balance Future Stars Series upcoming national events in Houston, FutureStarsSeries.com spoke with Illinois Indians founder, Nelson Gord, about his program being involved. Gord is also the Director of Recruiting Education for Program 15.
“When you look at any program, or if you look at half a million high school baseball players that there are in the country, there’s going to be that percentage that are going to be your high-level recruits. Being able to put them on the national stage in front of pro scouts and some high-level Division 1 college coaches out of your region, it’s vitally important. You don’t want to hold those kids back, but I also think that’s the power of having the different regions set up and the regional directors; the kids who aren’t the top five or ten percent of all athletes, they also have that avenue where they can be a part of the program but they don’t have to travel and spend so much financially to try to get to a place for something that might not have as big of a return for them.”
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,300 games covered in his career.
An avid trading card enthusiast, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son, future No. 1 overall draft pick in 2042, William, their beloved dog, Bailey, and occasionally well-behaved cat, Smokey.
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