By Daily Press staff
A group of 40 teenagers from low-income families spent five weeks this summer taking courses with SMC professors in the morning and playing baseball and softball in the afternoons at Major League Baseball’s facility in Compton.
On June 26, two professors and two counselors from SMC began teaching college-level courses to a group of about 40 students ranging in age from 14 to 17.
Students have spent their mornings four days a week taking either interpersonal communication or English and three days a week in study skills classes with SMC counselors.
“The things professor Hemmert teaches us I can use outside the class,” said 15-year-old Erica Burnett, who attends the Los Angeles Adventist Academy.
After attending classes in the morning and taking a lunch break, the young SMC students spent two hours in the afternoon getting intensive baseball and softball training, including workouts outdoors and in a weight-training room in the academy clubhouse, which has equipment donated by the Oakland A’s and other teams.
The academy is operating a variety of free baseball, academic and vocational programs year-round for youngsters ranging in age from 8 to 17. Almost all of the children and teenagers live within 10 miles of the academy, including the communities of South Los Angeles, Carson, Lynwood, Paramount, Long Beach and Compton. All are low-income, most are boys and the ethnic split is about 60 percent black to 40 percent Latino.
Academy officials said while the program is likely to foster the development of Major League players — for example, Lyndon Poole started playing at the academy in June and was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers July 5 — the organization is focused on much more than baseball skills. Academics, character building and healthy socialization are equally — if not more — important, officials said.
Students take specialized clinics in non-playing disciplines such as sports journalism, turf management, statistics, scouting, umpiring and player development. They also have access to computers, as well as college courses to foster academic achievement.
“The youth have to learn that when they pick up the ball, they also have to pick up the book,” said Dr. Robert Adams, SMC vice president of student affairs, who was instrumental in setting up the summer SMC program at the academy.
The Urban Youth Academy — a $10 million, 10-acre baseball complex at Compton College just opened in February. The 12,000-square-foot clubhouse has locker rooms, a training room complete with a whirlpool to help injured players, batting cages and more. The academy complex features a practice field and the showcase field, complete with scoreboard, 92-seat grandstand, dugouts and lights.
The SMC classes ended Friday and a graduation ceremony was held on July 31 at the academy in Compton. Table tennis tourney served up
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 17, 2006. Read the original PDF.