The PCA Blog - Tampa Bay

Chapter Spotlight: Matt Silverman

02.08.2016

LOCATION:
St. Petersburg, Florida

TITLE/ROLE:
President Baseball Operations, Tampa Bay Rays

HOBBIES:
Jogging, Scrabble, and Netflix binging

FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIE:
Bull Durham (the Durham Bulls are the Rays AAA affiliate)and Field of Dreams

FAVORITE SPORTS BOOK:
Heads Up Baseball: Playing the Game One Pitch At a Time by Ken Ravizza, PCA National Advisory Board Member and The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

FAVORITE MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE
"What you lack in talent can be made up in desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” – Don Zimmer, a member of Rays organization for 10 years, who had a tremendous impact on my life.

SPORTS BACKGROUND
I grew up in of Dallas and played a variety of sports as a child, focusing on tennis and baseball in high school. But from an early age, baseball was my first passion. I’m honored to work in Major League Baseball for the Rays.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF WHAT PCA TEACHES?
I love that PCA helps keep more kids involved in youth sports. Sports can teach kids valuable life lessons like discipline, teamwork and overcoming adversity. Unfortunately, nearly 70% of kids drop out of youth sports by the age of 13. When they do, we lose that opportunity to continue teaching them through sports. PCA provides research-based tools and resources that are proven to keep kids involved in youth sports.

WHAT DOES “BETTER ATHLETES, BETTER PEOPLE” MEAN TO THE RAYS ORGANIZATION?
The Rays place great importance on serving the Tampa Bay community. This goes for everybody in our organization. We expect our players to perform admirably on the field. We also encourage them to be stand-up teammates and to engage in making Tampa Bay a great place to live.

DESCRIBE A TIME WHEN A COACH MADE AN IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE BEYOND THE PLAYING FIELD.
Tom Adams was my high school baseball coach. He preached the power of teamwork, the value of being a good teammate and the joy and satisfaction that can that come from team accomplishments. Though I didn’t play very often (as a backup infielder), he treated me, and all my teammates, with equal respect and attention. That culture spilled over into our team performance.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME SO CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH PCA-TAMPA BAY?
I was drawn to PCA’s mission of creating better athletes and better people. I believe PCA can change the culture of youth sports. That culture spills over into the cultures of our schools and eventually into our wider community.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A PROSPECTIVE PARTNER OF PCA?
Join our team! We are anxious to provide our services and to support the great people in our community who are making youth sports a great place for kids to develop into young adults.