34 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019 

quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN 

sports HIGHlights

brought to you in partnership with 

NMLS#2289

S

outhfield native Justin 
Prinstein has been 
enamored with baseball 
since a young age. He was a 
scholarship player at George 
Washington University, made 
his professional debut overseas, 
graduated from University of 
Detroit-Mercy’
s law school and 
was a major league scout for 
the Baltimore Orioles organi-
zation.
Now, Prinstein, 35, is 
using his baseball knowl-
edge to enhance Detroit’
s 

youth. Prinstein is the exec-
utive director and founder of 
International Stars Baseball, a 
501(c)(3) nonprofit organiza-
tion.
The idea of the International 
Stars Baseball Academy came 
to Prinstein when he was in 
law school trying to find a 
place to train in Detroit. The 
only option he could find that 
had the netting and space he 
needed was at the Boll Family 
YMCA in Detroit.
In 2012, Prinstein decided 

he wanted kids in Detroit to be 
able to play the sport he was 
passionate about. He began to 
host weekly baseball clinics at 
the YMCA that were free and 
open to kids ranging from ages 
5-14.
During this time, Prinstein 
met Larry White, a mainte-
nance man at the YMCA, who 
helped him run the clinics. 
Prinstein’
s father, Jay, also 
became active in the weekly 
clinics.
From there, the organi-
zation continued to grow. 
International Stars decided 
to enter a team comprised of 
kids from their winter baseball 
clinics into the 2013 Detroit 
Police Athletic League (PAL)/
RBI summer league. White was 
named the head coach of this 

team and serves as the academy 
director.
Today, International Stars 
has four teams playing leagues 
during the spring, summer and 
fall. This year, their 14u team 
won the Detroit PAL summer 
league. Prinstein also has had 
a couple of the teams finish in 
the top places in the Detroit 
Legends League, which takes 
place in the spring and fall.
“We have turned our pro-
gram from kids who have never 
picked up a bat before to one of 
the most competitive city teams 
by far,” Prinstein said. “That’
s a 
testament to our coaching staff 
and our kids.”
Although Prinstein is the 
sole executive director for 
International Stars Baseball 
Academy, the academy 
wouldn’
t be where it is today 
without the support from 
Coach White.
“He goes out of his way to 
mentor these kids. He’
s like 
everyone’
s uncle,” Prinstein 
said. “He doesn’
t get paid for 
this; he does it out of the good-
ness of his heart. His sons, 
Layton and Landon, and White 
himself are on the ground 
picking these kids up from 

Baseball Academy

Justin Prinstein strengthens
Detroit’
s youth through baseball.

CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER

Jason Boschan’
s quest 
to run a half-marathon in 
every state in honor of his 
late grandfather took him 
to Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 3.
 Boschan, formerly 
of Bloomfield Hills, was 
one of more than 6,500 
runners who competed 
in the Good Life Halfsy in 
Nebraska.
 That was half-mar-
athon No. 23 of 50 for 
Boschan, whose Run4Papa 
effort raises funds for 
Alzheimer’
s disease 
research.
 Papa is Boschan’
s late 
grandfather, Dr. Louis 
Heyman of Bloomfield 
Hills, who suffered from 
dementia before passing 

away in 2013 at age 88.
 Boschan self-funds 
his trips to races. All the 
donations to Run4Papa 
go to Northwestern 
University’
s Mesulam 
Center for Cognitive 
Neurology and Alzheimer’
s 
Disease. 
 Several runners besides 
Boschan ran the race in 
Nebraska with “R4P” writ-
ten on their hands.
 Boschan is one of 
about 1,000 people who 
has run a marathon on 
all seven continents and 
run in all six major mara-
thons — Boston, London, 
Chicago, New York, Berlin 
and Tokyo.

Josh Nodler scored his 
first collegiate goal.
 The Michigan State 
University freshman center 
from Oak Park put the puck 
in the net Nov. 2 during the 
third period of the Spartans’
 
6-2 loss to No. 4-ranked 
Cornell at Munn Ice Arena.
 It was a power play goal, 
a one-timer from the right 
circle, and it came with the 
Spartans down 5-0.
 “(Scoring a goal) is definitely a weight off my 
shoulder and it was nice to do it in front of the 
home crowd,” Nodler told the State News.
 MSU coach Danton Cole is expecting a lot from 
Nodler even though Nodler is a freshman.
 The Berkley High School graduate and 2019 
Jewish News High School Athlete of the Year was 
a fifth-round choice of the Calgary Flames in the 
NHL draft this summer.

Dr. Louis Heyman 
and Jason 
Boschan

Coach Larry 
White gives 
hitting tips.

PHOTOS BY ALLISON FARRAND

Executive Director 
and founder Justin 
Prinstein talks to kids 
after winter training.

