On a recent edition of our On Deck podcast, we had the chance to speak with Mark Campbell of the North Florida Baseball Academy, a travel baseball organization based in Jacksonville, FL.
Campbell grew up around baseball and played collegiately at Florida International University. He was drafted by the Houston Astros and spent a few seasons in the minor leagues before transitioning to a coaching career.
In Jacksonville, Campbell saw an opportunity to help grow the game. He created North Florida Baseball Academy and quickly fashioned it into one of the top travel baseball organizations in Florida.
Campbell has tutored current and former MLB players including Billy Butler, Eric Hurley, and Ben Gamel. From the early days of travel baseball in Florida to its current state as a thriving enterprise, he has been successful throughout, and continues to make the North Florida Hurricanes one of the premier organizations in the state.
With two teams – 10 years and 12 years old – the Hurricanes draw players come from all over the Jacksonville area. The sprawling city is rich with top baseball teams and talent at the high school level, such as Bartram Trail, Bolles, and more.
Campbell’s goals for the North Florida Hurricanes are simple: Teaching the game and training the next generation.
“When kids come to my team, I don’t try them out,” Campbell said. “It’s not a tryout. I don’t keep the best kids. You show up, we’ll put together a team, and we’ll train from there.
“It’s not about winning,” he added. “You teach the kids how to catch and throw and do the little things, it’ll carry over so when they go to a better travel team, they can handle what’s going on.”
With those two goals at the forefront, Campbell and North Florida Baseball Academy continue to be one of Florida’s top travel baseball organizations while remaining committed to growing the next generation of baseball players. And with the 2022 tournament season underway in Florida, big things certainly are on the horizon again for the North Florida Hurricanes and the North Florida Baseball Academy.
