Check out how one of our partners in Santa Monica, CA is running their Badges for Baseball program. Athletic Director, Jesus Gonzalez, gives us the scoop:
About the BGC of Santa Monica:
Since 1944, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica has given kids and teens what they need to succeed in life in a safe and nurturing environment. The Club provides youngsters with the foundation to develop socially, succeed in school, stay physically active and prepare for positive futures.
Badges for Baseball Program:
The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica – Mar Vista Gardens Branch conducted the Healthy Choices, Healthy Children program over the summer. Using Quickball, we successfully completed the program with 105 members, ages 9-12. Our program was divided into 2, one-hour-long sessions (ages 9-10 and ages 11-12) which was held in the morning. During the first half of the session, our staff went over key concepts of the lesson, while the members followed along with their workbooks. The second half of the session consisted of a game that emphasized the key concept of the session. The game was paused when a member exemplified the key concept during the game and the staff explained what they saw (team work, sportsmanship, etc.) so that the member(s) exemplifying the concept was praised.
Special Events:
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica ended the summer with a Quickball Tournament and Homerun Derby. Our organization had multiple branches that were conducting the program, so as an end-of-the-summer celebration, all of the branches came together to celebrate Cal, Sr. Day. We opened the day with a Homerun Derby with coaches pitching to their athletes as they do in MLB. After everyone had their pitches and hits, one female and one male athlete were crowned as Homerun Derby Champs. After the Homerun Derby, we played a 4 team Quickball Tournament. It was a great day of sportsmanship and teamwork!
Thanks Jesus for sharing your story!