New friends being made with Doral Little League.

The Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs SportsUnited office created a nine-day exchange for youth baseball players from Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic for a Sports Visitors program. The delegation included 10 boys and four girls, ranging in age from 13 through 16, as well as two male coaches and one female coach. The group’s activities focused on Major League Baseball’s World Baseball Classic and other baseball related events in both Miami and Tampa, Florida. In conjunction with the Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, journalists from each of the participating nations traveled with the group, representing Mexico’s El Imparcial, Panama’s W Radio, and the Dominican Republic’s El Caribe.

During the group’s time in Miami, the youth had opportunities to see multiple levels of baseball and experience several unfamiliar aspects of life in the United States. Participants trained and played with members of Doral Little League, interacting with players ages 9 through 10 and 13 through 15, and even had the chance to be assistant coaches for a game. Later on, the group attended two games of the World Baseball Classic, the United States versus Netherlands and the United States versus Venezuela. They were further exposed to the professional level of baseball during a visit to the Baltimore Orioles Spring Training Camp. Participants practiced their skills in an indoor batting cage and met with Orioles players Alfredo Simon and Radhames Liz. According to David Murillo, of Panama, “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.” The students participated in a session at the University of Miami School of Law on conflict resolution/decision-making. The group discussed how to handle very real situations with gangs, street crimes, gender and racial issues. The youth also visited a Miami Boys and Girls Club, learning about the functions of the organization, joining in activities, and playing sports with youth members.

For the second part of the group’s stay they went to Tampa where they visited Eckerd College, took a tour of the campus, and participated in a clinic with the school’s baseball players and coaches. During the clinic, participants practiced stretching, position specific and hitting techniques.

Fausto Peña, the coach of the Dominican Republic delegation, reflected at the end of the program, “My country needs this type of program because I have seen firsthand how it has bettered the youth from the Dominican Republic that I have with me.”