IMPACT teens surprise inner city baseball teams with 'big game' experience
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Click here to see news coverage of the event on WTVF-CBS.
“The one constant through all the years has been baseball… This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again.” — Terence Mann, "Field of Dreams"
On Thursday, June 25, a group of young inner city baseball players were given a special day at the ballpark that is sure to give them good memories for years to come.
A group of nearly 2,000 teens from across the country who are on campus this week for Lipscomb’s annual spiritually focused summer camp, IMPACT, teamed up with Nashville’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities to give two inner city youth baseball teams a big game experience they won’t soon forget.
With the thermometer reaching the mid-90s, the teams, consisting of 13-, 14- and 15-year-old players, took the field at Draper Diamond and Smith Stadium to prepare for what they thought was merely a unique opportunity to play a game on a college field. A few family members and friends were scattered about the stadium.
What they didn’t know was that IMPACT campers had been preparing for this game all week, making signs for the players, finding clothes in team colors to wear and coming up with cheers for the game to give the baseball players the experience of playing in a “big game atmosphere.”
“This is an amazing opportunity for these players that they rarely get to experience,” said Daryl Robertson, director of RBI, an initiative of Major League Baseball that provides inner city children the opportunity to play organized baseball. “This experience far exceeds what they expected today. It’s such a big surprise.”
Once the teams finished warm-ups, the stands began to fill with nearly 2,000 excited “fans” who entered the stadium cheering for the teams and creating a game-day atmosphere complete with music, scoreboard and p.a. announcer. After members of each team were introduced individually, former Word recording artist Jordan House sang the national anthem.
Former Kansas City Royals left-fielder Josh Willingham was on hand to throw out the first pitch.
“It’s good to give back,” said Willingham, who made his major league debut with the Florida Marlins in July 2004 and retired from the Royals last September. “I enjoy working with kids in general. I was fortunate to be able to do what I love — baseball — for a long time. Being involved in a day like today is just my way of paying that forward. It’s just what I need to do.”
?Willingham and his wife, Ginger, launched the Josh Willingham Foundation, a nonprofit organization to provide support, education and other assistance to at-risk children among other initiatives.
“Each year we try to find a service project that we can do as part of our IMPACT week,” said Steve Davidson, director of spiritual outreach at Lipscomb and the IMPACT program. “This was a really neat opportunity to encourage local youth at this game in a really fun way for everyone.”
This is the second time IMPACT campers have surprised RBI teams with a “flash mob” crowd and big game atmosphere. In 2009, two RBI teams visited Dugan Field during IMPACT for a similar surprise. Robertson was one of the coaches at that game.
“Opportunities like this give our kids lifelong memories,” said Robertson, who has been with RBI for 12 years. “I still have great memories of that day. And six years later some of those who were the young kids playing ball that day are still talking about that experience. It makes a difference to them. We are just so grateful to Lipscomb for doing this for our kids, and are so excited that they wanted to do it again.”
Nashville RBI uses baseball and softball and the power of teams to provide inner-city youth with opportunities to play, to learn and to grow, inspiring them to recognize their potential and realize their dreams. Nashville RBI was started in 1996 with a grant from Major League Baseball. The Nashville chapter involves more than 900 boys and girls ages 3 to 18, and is designed to promote youth interest in baseball and softball, promote greater inclusion of minorities into the mainstream of the games, increase the self-esteem of disadvantaged children, and encourage academic participation and achievement.
Launched in 1992, Lipscomb University’s IMPACT is a spiritual enrichment program for middle and high school students that includes dynamic praise and worship and special interactive Bible classes taught by youth ministers and nationally known keynote speakers. Teens hear challenging messages and enjoy special times of worship, concerts and activities.