A Little History and Vision...
Naa’taanii was founded by Dineh Benally in 1999 with the primary goal of helping young men grow into leaders in their communities using the game of baseball. Naa'taanii sets out each season with the goal of winning the Farmington Connie Mack League and hosting the Connie Mack World Series. This goal is still alive and is what drives the Naa’taanii staff each season.
In 2007, Dineh joined forces with Tim Campos from Gallup, NM to expand Naa’taanii from a primarily all Native American team to a team that helps young men who would not normally be able to attend national tournaments. The team has expeanded to include the whole four corners area and the state of NM.
In 2008 Naa'taanii expanded to have 14u 16u and 18u teams. All three teams proved competetive, but fell short of winning any championships.
In 2009 Naa'taanii baseball programs shined. The 14u and 16u teams both won the NM AABC State Championship. The 14u team headed to Tulsa OK for regionals and the 16u team went to Dallas, TX where it placed Third in the South Plains Regional. This set the standard for Naa'taanii Development.
In 2010 The Naa'taanii Program expanded to host a college league team in the inaguaral season of the NM Colligiate League. The College Team performed brilliantly and won the State title. The 14u 16u and 18u teams all finished second in their repective State tournaments hopefully planting the seed for future success.
One of the goals of Naa'taanii Baseball was to bring Naa’taanii Baseball to a national level. Naa’taanii offers its teams access to national showcases (16u Youth National Championships in late June played in either West Palm Beach FL, or Peoria,AZ, The Four Corners Classic in Early June, The Omaha Slumpbuster, The AZ Fall Classic Invitational in October, The Under Armour National Showcase in Late December in Tucson, Az). These are some of the largest scouting events in the nation and Naa’taanii is one of only a few academies in NM that have invitations to these tournaments.
In 2010 Naa’taanii continued to grow by adding a workout facility based in Gallup, NM. From this location Naa'taanii is able to provide a high level of training programs for youth of all ages and can help to develop young athletes year round. Naa'taanii is committed to find the Nation's most elite instructors and training programs to help bring the very best information to help young athletes develop into leaders and professionals of tommorrow.
Naa'taanii has scheduled Ron Wolforth (texasbaseballranch.com, pitchingcentral.com, author of the Athletic Pitcher, Athletic Hitter and Combat Pitcher workout programs) to Gallup, NM to bring world class instruction to the youth of the southwest.
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Who we are... Naa'taanii Baseball Academy's Staff: Tim Campos is the Head Baseball Coach at Gallup High School and has coached for 8 years at both the youth and High School level.
Dineh is a business professional and coach. He has run Naa'taanii Baseball for eleven years and has played a part in helping multiple players move on to the next level of baseball: college, and pro.
The Naa'taanii 18u Baseball Team participates in the Connie Mack League in Farmington, NM giving the winning team in the league the opportunity to compete in the Connie Mack World Series. Also The 18u team participates in the nations largest 18u college placement tournaments.
Players can continue to play for Naa'taanii past their high school years. In 2010 Naa'taanii participated in the NM Collegiate League. Naa'taanii was State Champions in the League's inaugural year. Naa'taanii continually works to help its players get to their next level. Notable Naa'taanii Alumni are Vinny Littleman U of A. Adam Sotelo and John Tafoya Doane College, Mikey Ramirez Lamar CC and Tarlton State.
It is the mission of Naa'taanii Baseball to empower young athletes to push themselves to get to their own individual next level using the game of baseball as a means to teach leadership, teamwork, and self discipline and fortitude.
We love the game of Baseball... We want to serve...We want to provide opportunities for young athletes...We understand not everyone has the means to play at a national level... We want to help... The Unprofitable Servant...
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Tim Campos, Player Development, Connie Mack Manager
Tim Campos is a 1994 Gallup High School Graduate, 1996 Graduate of New Mexico Military Institute, and Commissioned Officer in the US Army and University of NM Graduate in Education. After 10 Years in the finance and insurance business Tim has rededicated his life to youth baseball and is now the Head Baseball Coach at Gallup High School. Tim is a member of Ron Wolforth's Inner Circle and is committed to helping players improve their baseball ability and skills to help them achieve their baseball aspirations.
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