Pizza boxes, soda cans and baseball equipment covered the wooden bench inside a dugout at Metro Park on a hot Tuesday afternoon.
On the field were 20 inner-city youths who had just come from visiting an art museum — some for the first time — and were getting ready for a friendly game of baseball.
Sandlot baseball camp was back for its second year, bringing troubled teens together to be mentored and shown there’s life beyond the baseball field.
The High Country Sandlot Foundation’s week-long camp aims to enhance the lives and baseball skills of at-risk youths who love the sport.
The free camp offers drills, cultural events, instruction from former professional player Tad Powers, tickets to Rockies games and baseball scholarships.
“Not everybody gives them a chance and not everybody cares about them like I do,” said Powers, who founded the national program and has written letters to judges helping to keep kids out of jail. “So it gives us opportunity to provide the type of instruction that you normally wouldn’t get.”
One camper is already taking advantage of the opportunity.
Next spring, 18-year-old Joseph Rodriguez will play at St. Charles Community College in Cottleville, Mo.
“My mom is happy for me. She wants me to go to college and make something of myself,” said Rodriguez, who plans to give back to kids like himself if he becomes a professional ballplayer. “The day I make it is the day I look out for all the little people instead of all big people.”
The camp has helped Bryant Maes, 17, start to believe in his game again.
The sophomore at Cherokee Trail High School was a benchwarmer on his baseball team.
“I started to sit on the bench, and my confidence went all the way down,” he said. “(The camp) helped me out because I got a lot of playing time, and I worked on my game and everybody was here to help me.”
Back on the field, Rodriguez watched his teammates — all from different backgrounds and many who have been in trouble with the law — smiling and enjoying the game.
The camp has given these youths the chance to dream again.
“There’s not too many people that love to play the game like I do, that have a passion for it. I would come out here for four or five hours to play,” Rodriguez said.
After catching a line drive, 14-year-old David Gomez was praised by coaches and players for his impressive play. If not for the camp, he said he would probably be on the streets, getting into trouble. Now, he’s learning how to live life on and off the field.
“Tad said he would help me, and that’s what I really like about this program,” said Gomez, who wants to be a pediatrician.
Gomez added, “They teach you it’s just not about baseball — it’s about your grades, your family, things outside of baseball.”
Yvette Lanier: 303-954-1033 or ylanier@denverpost.com
