Baseball Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Crooks as General Manager of Development and Governance.
Crooks will oversee areas including coaching, umpiring, facilities and competition pathways as well as key governance matters as part of the role.
Beyond development, other key projects will be a review of the competition pathways and some of the key systems in the sport, including the National Database.
He joins Baseball Australia after holding the position of National Talent Pathway Manager at Hockey Australia since 2014.
Crooks has a strong baseball background having played for the Melbourne Reds in the former Australian Baseball League and coached at the Victorian Institute of Sports and Baseball Victoria.
He has also worked with Softball Australia, Rowing Australia and Victoria University.
Baseball Australia Chief Executive Cam Vale said Crooks brought with him an extensive knowledge of the sports industry.
“Michael will play a key role in the development and the growth of a number of critically important areas in the sport, including umpiring, coaching, facilities and women’s baseball,” Vale said.
“The focus of this role is also as the key system integration between participation and High Performance whilst taking the leadership around key Baseball related governance matters and overall system improvements with our State & Territory Baseball Associations”
Crooks is set to start with Baseball Australia in early March.