As a former professional baseball player, I enjoyed playing all sports as a kid.  My parents exposed me to basketball, football, baseball and soccer.  I truly enjoyed learning from each sport and how the body movements and physical/mental challenges were so different.  I remember growing up in my neighborhood with all my friends and on Saturday mornings we would play all kinds of different sports like the ones mentioned above, also wiffleball and kickball.  It was fun, competitive, and free. We made our own rules and settled our own disagreements. 

Travel teams were unheard of, and everything was localized.  I never traveled more than 20 miles to play any sport growing up. However, that is not the case in today’s youth sports.  Many children and families are put at an extreme disadvantage financially just for an opportunity to play a sport, not to mention the professional instruction where each lesson costs an unrealistic amount of money. Hourly rates for private coaching sessions can range from $50 to $200, depending on the coach’s credentials and experience. There is no manual that differentiates between the glorious aspects of youth sports and the predatory ones. No one can fully explain how youth sports can monopolize a family’s world until they’re in it.

That is why I started Ballers and Scholars, a non- profit 501 (c)(3) organization.  For this reason, it’s heartbreaking to see talented kids miss out on opportunities because their families can’t afford the costs. I found a way to make youth sports more accessible and affordable for families in rural areas of Pinal and Gila Counties.

The Ballers and Scholars organization will focus on providing opportunities for the youth to develop in their sport and making that development fun. We will teach our youth what it’s like to depend on their teammates just as they depend on the coaching staff. Teaching accountability and creating confidence will be a priority. The result will be that the youth will learn what working individually and as a team can accomplish. This can be one small piece of a child’s development in a small window of their life. For the goal of sending them on their way to become productive citizens.