Legends for Youth Teaches Kids To Play and Have Fun

The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) runs many wonderful programs, but certainly one of the best is the Legends for Youth Clinic Series.

Legends for Youth is a charitable program running more than 185 free events a year nationwide, and more than 400 worldwide. The mission of Legends for Youth is to promote the game of baseball to kids using positive sports images and personalities.

On July 20, I brought my own 14-year-old son to the clinic held at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury Connecticut.

As Detroit Tigers alumni John Doherty explained to attendees, the clinic was broken up into seven stations grouped by age, and a variety of different baseball skills including flyballs, grounders, pitching, baserunning, throwing, hitting and even life lessons.

Each training session lasts about 25 minutes, and children then rotated from station to station as a group.

Former major leaguers attending the event at Waterbury included John Doherty, Matt Merullo, Rob Bell, Joe Lahoud, Frank Eufemia, Fred Cambria and John Stuper.

Besides having a World Series ring from the Cardinals in 1982, John Stuper is now the head coach at Yale and spoke to the children about the importance of life choices and the best way to deal with failure.

At the conclusion of the event, all of the major league alumni signed autographs for the children who attended, and local sponsors added packs of baseball cards and ticket vouchers to an upcoming college summer league game in the area.

Former Met Tim Byrdak says it’s important for kids to understand that it isn’t always about hitting or throwing the ball hard, but it’s about playing the game right, good sportsmanship, and having fun.

“Being able to come out, a lot of us being ambassadors to the game, teaching younger kids and younger generations maybe not to be an All-Star, but just give them the tools to understand the game a little bit better, to enjoy the game and want to become fans.”

MMO readers who would like to make a contribution to the Legends for Youth Program can access the donation page here.

Have a child aged 6 to 16 who would like to attend a free event with major league alumni?  Check out their list of Upcoming Events here.

There is one coming up on Saturday August 17 from 9:00 am to noon at Jensen Field in Ridgefield Connecticut, and spots are still available.

Photo Credits: Legends for Youth