Dance-Off at the Mound

Posted June 29, 2012

We were well prepared for our Miami clinic. We had several days to rest, recuperate, rejuvenate, rehydrate, reload, and refocus. After getting a glimpse of the Miami scene, we were ready for the big show!

Youth baseball clinic with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Miami!!

We knew this one was going to be a special* one. BBBS was bringing a busload of unmatched kids, the Senior VP was coming with his kids, and we were going to have a fantastic set-up at Tropical Park!

*Every event is a special one 🙂 this one is special in its own way… just like the rest!

As we were all warming up, listening to Katy Perry blast over the PA system and getting to know each other, we were counting our blessings that it wasn’t going to rain for the two-hour clinic. It had been raining nearly our entire time in Miami, and even though the dugouts were a bit washed out, the field was in great condition and the skies were clear!

The B4B team was most excited to work with a bunch of unmatched kids. This is something that is near and dear to our heart and what we are working on to promote the most.

An unmatched kid means that he, or she, has been submitted to BBBS and is in need of an adult volunteer to match up with. An unmatched child lives in a single parent home, grows up in a poverty-stricken area or copes with parental incarceration. They join up with BBBS to hopefully find a wonderful person like you to be a consistent and positive influence in their life. Most cities are desperately looking for new adult volunteers, and mainly males (~80%), to volunteer to become a Big.

Personally, I had no idea how much FUN it would be. Volunteering has such a work-like tone to it. But MENTORING, is pretty much the best thing in the world. The only things that comes close to it are baseball and cycling. But mentoring tops it, because of the impact you are able to make on the future with the youth of today. Being able to teach these kids about the game of baseball through such a positive and supportive atmosphere is something that we believe will leave a lasting impact for these kids for-ev-er!

We also believe it will help propel Biking for Baseball into our second year of operation. Year 2, we’ll help provide these kids with the means of continuing their baseball experience and joining up with a local team. We’ll bring more adult volunteers into the program to become matched up with Big Brothers and Big Sisters right there at the event! We’ll have more media outlets covering the cause that Every Kid Needs a Coach to get more mentors to learn about becoming a mentor in their city.

These unmatched kids were ready for every moment in the 2 hours they had with us as soon as they jumped out of the bus. They eagerly ran over to the B4B team, exchanged hi-5’s, grabbed a glove and started warming up their arms with smiles on their faces.

Splitting up into the clinics: hitting homers, the Pickle Drill, and ESPN highlight reel catches, these guys loved every minute of it. After every catch, they’d run over and give us a hi-5, dance on the mound between turns pitching,

cheer on other kids with encouragement and listen attentively to every word a Biking for Baseball’er had to say. What a fun group!

The baseball game, we put our new skills to the test, and everyone had learned the fundamentals well. Solid defense made for quick innings and many turns through the order. Working with so many kids on the field, we had one of our most fun events. It’s amazing how fun kids are!

Gale Nelson, Senior VP, and his kids came out to join in on the fun too and were some of the best athletes on the field. Little Gale Jr. had never played baseball and was D-ing the hot corner the whole game with precision! Was fun to watch the kids have so much fun with it. John, came in a polo and cargo shorts, yet made the best catches in the clinic and during the game. Jermaine had the dance moves, Shawn had the defensive range, Julian had the bat, and Brandon came up with his first hit… EVER!!

Thank you Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Miami. Your employees are top notch and committed, your kids are positive and encouraging to one another and you have one of the strongest leaders we’ve met YET! If you’re reading this and you live in Miami, you NEED to join up with these guys. What a team!