SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Any time young athletes can be taught the fundamentals of being a great ballplayer, as well as the fundamentals of being a great human being, that's a winning combination for life. And that's exactly what the Junior Giants are doing for kids on the West Coast.
"It's a social and emotional baseball program," said Scott Jensen, commissioner of Junior Giants. "Half the program is baseball skill development, and half the program is character development."
Roughly 30,000 kids throughout California, Nevada and Oregon are a part of this unique program, which is supported by the San Francisco Giants Community Fund. Their objective is to provide free resources to kids in underserved communities.
"There's not a lot of people who have a lot of money," said Mariah Grijalava, an 11-year-old softball player with the program. "It helps people who don't have that much money."
Grijalava is one of the thousands of kids who have benefited from this program, and this experience means everything to her.
"It has taught me a lot," she said. "It has taught me how to help other people, and people who don't have stuff that other people do."
The program is made up of volunteer coaches, like Anthony English, who coaches his son's team, and recently won the Willie Mac award this year for his outstanding service to the league.
"It's an honor because I love the Junior Giants," said English. "My boys have grown in confidence; they've grown their skills. They've grown as people."
"It's very fun; that's for sure," said 11-year-old baseball player Uriah Hernandez. "You'll learn more and be more better than you used to."
Even though the baseball season just wrapped up, they start flag football in September and have basketball during the winter months. Those who are interested in signing up for the program can go to www.gojrgiants.org.
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