RIALTO – Nine-year-old Patrick Boswell of Highland got a crash course in baseball fundamentals at Frisbie Park on Saturday.
By mid-morning, Patrick said he had learned “how to catch a grounder right and how to run around the bases right.”
The youth-oriented Joe Baca Foundation, named for the congressman, presented the free fitness and baseball clinic to about 200 children ages 4 to 14. This is the second consecutive year the foundation has held the clinic.
Its purpose was to “educate the kids on the importance of working hard, taking care of their bodies and teamwork,” said Baca’s son, Joe Baca Jr., who oversaw the clinic.
Baseball instruction, he said, was secondary.
Legend Jackson, 10 of San Bernardino, came to the clinic “because I heard there was going to be baseball players,” he said, taking a break from drills.
Sure enough, the clinic featured instruction from a number of professional and college baseball players, many of them making the rounds in the minor leagues.
Lucas Duda volunteered his time to coach at the clinic.
Last year, the 21-year-old from Riverside played for the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league affiliate of the New York Mets.
Asked what he hoped the children got out of the clinic, he said, “I just hope they have a great time (and) learn a thing or two.”
Wesley Stone also lent a hand Saturday. Stone, 20, grew up in Rialto and last year played for the Auburn Doubledays, a Toronto Blue Jays minor league team in Auburn, N.Y.
“It’s an honor to be part of this,” he said.
The coaches spent the morning drilling the children in everything from hitting and running to catching and fielding. Afterward, Jay Johnstone, who played outfield for the Angels and Dodgers during his 20-year Major League Baseball career, gave the children some advice.
Listen to your coaches.
When you practice, practice like you’re playing a game.
And strive to go to college. Johnstone noted that a high percentage of baseball players are being drafted out of college, not high school.
In addition, Dr. Aaron Rubin, director of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Fontana, warned the children about the dangers of taking steroids, a topic, he said, with which they’re probably familiar. He told them that steroids can stunt their growth.
He asked the children, how can they get big, strong muscles?
Among the answers: drink milk and eat meat.
By ERIN WALDNER
The Press-Enterprise
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