Mathieu Silva could barely contain his excitement. His father, Christian, had gathered the family in his hometown of Bollate, outside Milan, to share his announcement. It details an opportunity a young Italian baseball player has never had before.
Mathieu, a 13-year-old outfielder who represented Italy at the 2022 Under-12 Baseball European Championship, was invited as the first member of a special project led by the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation (FIBS). He was headed to the United States with plans to spend the next nine months training at the school that has produced nine future MLB draft picks since 1995. Standing with his invitation in hand, his arms raised and shouting, Mathieu celebrated his victory triumphantly. It was the first step in a journey that could shape his entire baseball career.
“It’s really a dream,” Cristian Silva said through an interpreter of his son’s chance. “This is something we take very seriously, considering he’s representing his country, his national team, his hometown team, his family, etc.”
There needs to be a sense of its importance given how this project is viewed by all involved. For Mathieu, this is an opportunity to make great strides in a sport for which he has an unwavering passion. For those with FIBS, the young outfielder’s experience is seen as a foundational step in efforts to grow Italian baseball.
While Mathieu is living proof that there is a passion for baseball in his home country, the popularity of the sport as a whole is still developing. Signs of momentum emerged in the form of increased viewership for the Italian team during the 2023 World Baseball Classic and Italian baseball’s recognition from the International Olympic Committee, but the wave was not entirely clear to the FIBS members. Not as big as expected. To address this issue, they needed the help of an Italian-American with a Hall of Fame resume.
“Mike Piazza slowly helped redefine baseball culture in Italy,” said FIBS International Special Projects Director Gianmarco Faraone. “Currently, we are focusing on the development of our youth, with the goal in mind of having an all-Italian-born and bred team competing in the WBC.”
As Piazza prepares to coach Italy for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Faraone spoke to bench coach Blake Butera about the youth effort. Faraone asked Butera, who was drafted by the Rays in 2015 and is now their farm director, where he grew as a player when he was younger. That’s when Farawan first learned about Lake Castle, a kindergarten through eighth-grade private school in Madisonville, Louisiana, founded by Blake’s father, Barry, in 1995.
The location, sometimes referred to as “The Castle,” is where Blake and two other 2015 MLB draft picks will get their first experienced baseball workout, and is second to none in the eyes of the school’s owners. It is something.
“We have the best baseball program on the planet,” Barry Butera said. “No child anywhere on the planet is receiving better instruction than we have here. I can freely say that.”
Intrigued, Faraone had the elder Butera come to Italy to speak at the Italian Baseball and Softball Tournament in Rimini, and eventually visit the Piazza del Parma. Mr. Piazza explained FIBS’s current approach to youth development. The idea is to use regional academies to identify top 14- and 15-year-old players who will be sent to American high schools for further training. Butera quickly flagged what he deemed to be significant concerns.
“I said, ‘Mike, 14, 15, 16 is a little too late,'” Butera said. “I said to Piazza, ‘If you want to develop baseball players, you’ve got to develop these kids at 10, 11, 12 years old.’ Give them the right fundamentals, mechanics, understanding how to play the game. Please start teaching me.”
Asked how FIBS could accomplish this, Butera suggested a solution to Piazza. “It was about sending a few kids to my school.”
With Piazza on board, Faraone got to work. For such a plan to become a reality, we needed to get the green light from various school systems, the government, and several members of FIBS. Farawan spent months pitching his project and gaining the buy-in he needed to make it happen.
But the success of this effort ultimately depended on one important factor. Faraone hired Barry Butera as his coach, a man passionate about his heritage and willing to do what was necessary to further develop Italian baseball. He needed the most important piece of the puzzle.
“I don’t think anyone loves Italian culture as much as my father,” Blake Butera said. “He was going to do whatever he could to get this done, and he was able to do it. A lot of that was trusting Gianmarco and picking the best kid for this.”
It didn’t take long for Faraone to realize that Mathieu fit the bill. A young standout player who was once touted as a potential future captain of the Italian national team, Mathieu provided the leadership, positive attitude, perseverance, and significant culture shock that Faraone felt he needed to grow from this experience. He boasted of the fortitude necessary to cope with the coming events. multiple levels.
“I knew it had to be a player with that character and mental toughness,” Faraone said. “[Mathieu] He’s a special player. He does things the right way. His ability to coordinate in multiple countries, which I saw firsthand, was part of the reason everyone chose him to be the first Italian middle school athlete to go to America. ”
The project officially began in August when Mathieu and Christian boarded an international flight to Madisonville. Although the trip itself lasted more than 14 hours, it took Mathieu much less time to realize how grueling baseball practice could be.
Practices at Lake Castle occur five days a week and last up to two hours each. The seventh-grader and his eighth-graders practice on a regulation field with a 90-foot basepath in front of Butera and his three other coaches who monitor each player’s every move. Fundamentals and fielding instruction mimics major league play.
Matthew quickly realized that he was far from home in many ways.
“The first few days he didn’t practice, he just sat there with his jaw open,” Barry Butera said. “He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His 13-year-old kid from Italy had never been to a baseball program like that before. What I’m talking about. is about a practice where if you pick your nose incorrectly, you are corrected.”
The talent gap and his father’s eventual return to Italy prompted Mathieu to make his first attempt at a transition. His defensive prowess gained him national recognition in his home country, but he soon realized how much room he had to grow compared to his Lake Castle teammates.
“The process has had its ups and downs,” Faraone said. “I’ve had a lot of phone calls home late at night. But I know that Mathieu is getting great coaching under coach Barry Butera, so I think this is something that will benefit him in the long term.” There is no doubt in anyone’s mind.”
Adding to that sense of security was how Mathieu reacted to the intensity around him on the field. He understood the ground he needed to make up and didn’t shy away from doing the work required to do so.
The length and frequency of practice did little to hinder Matthew’s desire to improve. After his days on the field, he continued training in the evenings with host Lake Castle infield coach Manny Estrada. Even when Mathieu returned to Italy for Christmas, it was not seen as a chance for him to take a breather.
“We trained every day from the time he came back from Christmas until the day he left,” Christian said. “I didn’t want him to stop the routine he had created for himself and continue his ability to get better and not miss a beat at all when he returned to Castle.”
Mathieu’s efforts to build up the physical strength he lacked at the start of the program were also helped by some not-so-subtle guidance from his coach before the break.
“The kid could only do three push-ups,” Barry Butera said. “When he went home for Christmas break, I said, ‘If you can’t do 20 push-ups in a row by the time he comes back in January, I’m going to put you right back on a plane and send you back.’ Well, he can now do 25 push-ups without resting.”
Strength training isn’t the only thing Mathieu can improve on. After just three months of training with Lake Castle coaches and teammates who embraced him from the moment he arrived, Mathieu’s overall progress has been undeniable to those around him. From his footwork on the field to the quality of his contact at the plate, there’s no shortage of proof of how far Mathieu has come since he arrived.
“He’s unrecognizable today compared to who he was in August,” Barry Butera said. “He’s a million times better than when he got here. I have no doubt that by the time he comes back at the end of March he’ll be a lot better than he is now.”
If Matthew lives up to those expectations, it will be seen as a decisive victory for FIBS. Promoting the growth of baseball in Italy remains the organization’s top priority. Despite the establishment of academies across the country, their lack of continuity hampers their effectiveness.
As a result, Faraone began working with Piazza and former Mets All-Star Matt Harvey to build a sports complex in Rome. The facility will serve as the base for baseball and softball in Europe, providing consistent and dedicated training while expanding the game’s reach across the continent.
For Faraone, Mathieu’s experience is an opportunity for the young Italian player to make the necessary progress before his complexes are set.
“We really hope this is a pipeline that we’re building for middle school students from Italy to the United States,” Faraone said. “It’s a way to bring more players to the United States, to get coaching, to be exposed to day-to-day activities, to be exposed to the ability to improve every day, until we can do that in Italy.”
In that respect, Matthew’s journey is much more than just a dramatic change in practice habits. He will represent FIBS’s mission to develop baseball talent at younger ages, while also being relied upon as the organization pursues its dream project of becoming a European baseball hub. The hope of all involved is that Mathieu returns not only as an improved player, but also as someone who is willing to share his experiences and influence the way Italian baseball trains in the future.
“He thought he was a passionate player who worked hard,” Barry Butera said. “Now he knows what it really is to work hard and what it is to be a passionate baseball player.” He was exposed to something that showed him that.”
Expanding the program at Lake Castle is the next step for FIBS. While Butera is looking for members of the Madisonville community to host the next batch of international participants, Faraone has heard from many Italian families who would like to consider future trips.
As for Matthew, he remains fully focused on setting the standard for a project that could have a major impact on the growth of baseball in his home country.
“There’s a lot of pride in the way he’s doing it and he’s confident he’s doing it the right way,” Christian said. “He will be a role model for the next class of kids in August 2024. He will do everything he can to not only establish a standard of excellence, but also to be an ambassador for this program. We need to make sure.”