JCC Association Hooks Up With
Major League Baseball, Launching Program For Local Youth
NEW YORK, NY, JUNE 26,
2006 – Thanks to Major League Baseball, ten Jewish Community
Centers and summer camps have received grants to offer Major
League Baseball’s Rookie League Pitching Machine Program.
The 6-12 year old participants will join a league in after-school
JCC programs or during summer camp.
The grants will pay for pitching machines and collateral equipment,
such as batting helmets; baseball gloves; and catchers’
mitts, shin guards, chest protectors and masks, essential
to operating the program. Designed as a bridge between tee-ball
for little ones and live-pitch baseball, the pitching program
gives boys and girls an opportunity to learn the sport’s
fundamentals in a supportive, fun environment that reduces
the risk of injury and develops hand/eye coordination.
JCCs not selected this time around are nonetheless encouraged
to incorporate the Rookie League instructional concept into
their youth sports programming, said Steve Becker, JCC Association’s
continental consultant for sports & wellness, taking advantage
of JCC Association and MLB support services to ensure success
and the opportunity to distinguish their program from competing
neighborhood sports programs.
Beyond their increased level of technical skill, young participants
receive the intangible benefits of greater self-confidence,
enthusiasm for the game of baseball, and the improved social
skills that come with interaction on a team. A positive recreational
outlet, Rookie League provides a basis for life-long physical
fitness. Program guidelines stipulate all players must be
included, discourage coaches from score-keeping, and ban bunting,
stealing or walks, thereby playing down excessive competition
while furthering participants’ self-esteem and sense
of accomplishment at this impressionable stage.
To meet the selection criteria, JCCs and summer camps had
to demonstrate that they were capable of fielding a minimum
of four teams; commit to hiring a league leader, and provide
adequate budgetary support. The projected enrollment, as well
as ethnic diversity of the youth population served, was also
taken into account.
Participating grantees are:
• Shimon & Sara Birnbaum JCC, Bridgewater, NJ
• Sabes JCC, St. Louis Park, MN
• JCC of Rhode Island, Providence, RI
• Mid-Island Y-JCC, Plainview, NY
• JCC MetroWest, West Orange, NJ
• Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, Milwaukee, WI
• Camp Barney Medintz at Marcus JCC, Atlanta, GA
• JCC of Greater Baltimore, Owings Mills, MD
• Worcester JCC, Worcester, MA
• New Jersey Y Camps, Fairfield, NJ
###
JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC Association
offers a wide range of services and resources to strengthen
the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational, cultural,
social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs
to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all ages and
backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also the U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
15 E. 26 St., NY, NY 10010
212-786-5092
grounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
The NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization
founded by the National Football League and NFL Players Association
in 1998 to use football as a catalyst to promote positive
youth development. Through the YFF, hundreds of thousands
of youngsters have been given the opportunity to learn the
game of football, get physically fit, and stay involved in
productive after-school activities with adult mentors. The
YFF also provides youth football participants with safe and
accessible places to play, as well as programs and initiatives
that address the importance of proper coaching, academics,
health and safety, and life skills development.
fax: 212-481-4174
send an e-mail
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