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We are now a team.

How can I explain it? This program was innovative! It brings together our nations’ cultures, sports, and youth. This is significant because we all so badly need to become unified. The program provided huge benefits and peace to the families. It is these types of common bonds through sports and culture that we should develop to create ties of friendship and affection.

As an official representative of the Dominican Republic, one of the highlights for me was our conflict resolution day at the University of Miami School of Law. At the university the youth were given some very specific tools they will need when they return home. It is critically important to teaching our children how to handle these situations regarding crime and gangs. In all three countries participating in this program gangs have done so much damage. This day our kids became equipped with the proper tools to grow and advance. They will put all this information and advice to practice when they return home. One of my boys from the Dominican Republic arrived with a fixed mind that his way was the best way. By the end of the day at the university he was transformed.

My country needs this type of program because I have seen first hand how it has bettered the youth from the Dominican Republic that I have with me. This program has been a good motivator for the group. Thank you very much. I will always remember this. It has been very beautiful.

Posted Friday, March 20, 2009 by Coach Briceida Del Carmen Vergara Dominguez - Panama

This has been an amazing program. All the children have grown and learned tremendously this past week. Jorge first arrived in this country so shy and reserved. Although he may have played with his Panamanian team members before, he was always very quiet. Now, at the end of the program, not only has he formed a bond with his countrymen, but with the rest of the group as well. I work with human resources in Panama, but I also manage a baseball little league. The problems I encounter in my country are economic and technical. We do not have funds, and without the money it can be daunting when trying to achieve goals. As a result we lose many of our children to gang violence and street crimes. This program has motivated the children to grow both culturally and academically, besides becoming great athletes. Since our time here in the U.S., they have exhibited interest in cultivating themselves academically. As adults, we have the responsibility of encouraging the kids to become the bearers of the learning skills beyond this program. During our day at Miami University School of Law, I was amazed at the various strategies for decision making and conflict resolution methods the university provided. The children soaked it all up like little sponges. They were literally at the edge of their seat. And then we had the great fortune of speaking with two pitchers from the Orioles, one of whom had an extraordinary story. He told the group he could have been signed out of high school but chose to go and finish college before signing any contracts. That was a comprehensive lesson for the kids, both academically and athletically. Using this experience with the kids, we learned how to better convey the messages we want to communicate.

Posted Friday, March 20, 2009 by Coach Alvaro Valenzuela Miranda - Mexico

This has been a very successful program. The children and I benefited from this program tremendously. We all learned the fundamental and technical aspects of baseball. The clinics were conducted by trained staff and coaches who taught us and perfected our playing techniques. The treatment by the American players and coaches will be deeply remembered.

My kids and I from Mexico were able to meet people from other countries including Panama, Dominican Republic and the U.S.. I can’t imagine a better way for me to have experienced the great camaraderie we achieved. We formed a team. Through the different activities, I changed my image about America and have a true desire to come back to your wonderful country. The American people too are kind and affectionate, and everyone was welcoming.

During our visit to the University of Miami I observed the children during an activity about “conflict”, which helped the kids think differently and find solutions when faced with problems. I was pleasantly surprised with how engaged the children were with this exercise, and the University was so inviting. The children learned they can achieve anything through athletic success but also learned how to make better decisions. After our day at the University of Miami I noticed the children no longer asked for advice solely from their own coach, but sought guidance from us all. Another meeting I enjoyed was the one with the Orioles players. These professional players made a strong emphasis on good family values and a positive attitude to achieve success in athletics and life. One of the players told the children that they are accountable for their actions and the decisions they make. These two players are now their role models, and the children aspire to be like them one day. And they were hanging on to every word, which was a very good thing.

As we depart tomorrow, the kids and all of us adults are feeling very thankful toward the United States for inviting us to participate in this program. It was a very productive endeavor in every aspect. The care bestowed upon us was immeasurable.

May this program prevail with its main focus: helping youth improve their attitude by creating a dialogue between the United States and the rest of the world.

Age: 14
Favorite Team: New York Yankees, Panama Metro

World Baseball Classic Visitors Program Day at Eckerd College

Today was another wonderful day, but I'm a little tired from all the activities. We left beautiful Miami very, very early today. Most of us slept all the way to Tampa, Florida. We were so glad that all the rain stopped, and we had a nice day in the sun. The first place we visited was Eckerd College. Erica, a student there, gave us a tour of the school. It was really quiet, because most of the students were away for Spring Break. This college is beautiful. You feel like you are at a resort. They even have their own beach, and one of their classes is kayaking! It is very inviting here. The bay around the campus adds to the beauty and the relaxing environment. I think this could help me with my studies. We walked through the dorm rooms, and even they looked relaxing. What surprised me the most was that they can have dogs, cats and other small pets in their rooms. We also had fun watching the squirrels on the campus, because they were very funny and confident. They were not afraid of us at all. The school was so beautiful that I asked how much it would cost to attend. The school is very expensive, but the school gives scholarships to good international students. I will work hard, and maybe one day I can come back to study here. In the afternoon we practiced baseball with the team. They are dedicated, work really hard and put in long hours. While all their friends were away enjoying and spring break, they were still at school practicing. They work to make themselves better. We enjoyed practicing and talking with the boys on the team. After our practice, we went to the new hotel and many of us went straight to the pool.

Tomorrow is our last full day and I know it will be a great day, too.

Age: 15
Position: Shortstop
Favorite Player: Derek Jeter

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World Baseball Classic Visitors pose for photo with Baltimore Orioles pitchers Radhames Liz and Alfredo Simon.

Today was a different day. Because of the rain everything we were supposed to do was changed. It was awesome! We got to meet with two big league players from the Baltimore Orioles. One was Alfredo Simon and the other was Radhames Liz. Both are pitchers. We had a great time with them. They talked to us for a long time about a lot of good things, like how we need to be humble, study a lot, practice hard, play well and work even harder. I listened because discipline and dedication are the keys to success. The players were very nice to us. They signed autographs and took lots of pictures with us. I hope to become like one of them.

Since it was still raining outside we went to an indoor batting cage to practice. Practice was fun, but I had a better time playing a crane game. It took me a long time but I won a stuffed animal! We ended the day at a World Baseball Classic game. This was the second game we got to see. The game was between Venezuela and Team USA. The crowd was much more excited than the first game. We ate dinner at the ballpark, and the food was terrible. Nothing went as planned today, but we had a great day anyway.

Age: 16
Favorite Team: Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds

David, Yensys, and Ramon squaring off on the field

Today was an incredible day. We started our day with a visit to the University of Miami to attend a program about making decisions and problems that we must face every day: things that happen to us in real life. Because gangs do exist, they are real and the problems are real. I learned that no matter what situation you find yourself, even if you experience hunger, you must say no to gangs. We learned the importance of making good choices in life and the consequences of not thinking before taking action. There will be times in life where we have to act, but I learned that it is also important to think and talk things out before we make problems worse. We took a tour of the university, and the dean of International Admissions explained what we needed to be thinking about and how we could attend a great university like Miami. We saw the athletics facilities, and my favorite part was the pool. The girls were really pretty. After our tour of the campus, we went to the ballpark to play baseball. There I bumped into Amauri, an old friend. When I was younger he came and stayed with my family for 7 months. I looked up to him like a big brother. I never thought I'd see him again. The world is smaller than I thought. We finished the day with an amazing trip to South Beach where we got to take pictures and walk on the beautiful beach. We also had a great dinner at a Chinese buffet. It was a wonderful day, filled with surprises. If the world were always like this it would be an amazing dream come true.

Age: 16
Team: Juan Diaz League, Panama City
Favorite Team: New York Yankees
Favorite Player: Alex Rodriguez

Yesterday was a great day; it was Maria Guadalupe’s birthday.  She’s from Mexico and we celebrated by wishing her a happy birthday in the morning and singing “Las Mañanitas”, a traditional birthday song. I went bowling for the first time ever and had a lot of fun, even though it didn’t go so well for me and some of the others. After that, we went to Dolphin Mall and went around three times because it was so large. Last night was the big baseball night; we went to the World Baseball Classic.  We got to see the Netherlands play team USA. It was amazing to see the huge stadium and be so close to the professional players.  I was so happy the U.S. team won.  A-Rod is my favorite player and the Netherlands beat the Dominican team so I missed the chance to see my favorite player.  I couldn’t wait to talk to my family and tell them all about it. 

Sarah Marquinez from Panama (left/front), and Dalys Saavedra from Panama (orange tee-shirt), make friends with young ladies from the Boys and Girls Club of Miami-Dade

Today, we went to Jungle Island, a special bird zoo that has hundreds of birds, fish, and mammals that were all new to me. I spent several hours walking through the park with my new friends from the Dominican Republic and Mexico and watched a fantastic bird show.  We saw a 62 year old bird riding a bicycle on a tightrope without any help.  In Panama we don’t have these types of shows. Later in the day, we went to the Miami Dade Boys and Girls Club.  It struck me that this is a place that is purely recreational but at the same time one can learn to be an exceptional person.  I met and talked with two girls from Miami who are members of the Club.  I hope that we are able to continue to talk to each other.  While the boys were able to play basketball, the girls got to see a dance class, which is always fun.  The instructor even taught us a few dance moves.  Before we left the Club we gathered together in a circle to talk about our time here in the U.S. and our hopes that more people will be able to participate and learn from programs like these.

It has been very interesting to talk to the other participants from the Dominican Republic and Mexico. I am enjoying learning about their cultures, hearing the different accents and listening to the different words that we use. We seem to learn more as each day passes.

Age: 16     
Team: Cajeme, Sonora     
Position: 3rd Base     
Favorite Team: New York Yankees    
Favorite Player: Vinny Castilla

Hi, my name is Jean Carlo and I live in Sonora, Mexico. This is a dream to come to America to play baseball. I was so excited to take my first flight to the U.S.

Jean Carlo Solorzano hits a double

The first day of our baseball program was very exciting. After eating a big breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast, we left the hotel early in the morning to spend the day at the Doral Little League in Doral, Florida. We got together with American players some younger than us, and some our age. My group got to be Junior Coaches of a game with the 9-10 year olds who were actually very good players. For lunch we ate American style hotdogs (just bread and the hot dog) which are different from the ones in Mexico. After eating, we had a second game where we played with 13-15 year olds who were from different countries—U.S., Cuba, Venezuela, Panama. During this game I played with the American team called the Indians and we played against the Angels. I went to bat twice and hit two doubles, two RBIs and one run!! After the game we stayed to chat with them about our trip and the great things we are going to do later in the week. During the bus ride back to the hotel we joked around and after we got back to the hotel we showered and ate pizza –with full bellies, we relaxed by the pool where we talked about specific words in Spanish can mean different things in each of our countries. After that I wrote this and we went to sleep to get ready for tomorrow's activities.  Read this blog entry en Español