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Mexico Adventure: Legion baseball team and reporter head to Baja
http://www.pressandjournal.com/articleDetail.aspx?ID=2391
by Rachel Swick
6/10/2009
A group of seven Middletown-area (PA) Legion baseball players, six baseball coaches and chaperones and one reporter have ventured to Baja, Mexico to
help out at a day care center and women's shelter for five days. The trip is focused on teaching the Middletown residents about the culture of this
region of Mexico, and in return the group will hold baseball clinics to teach the local children of Baja how America's game is played. Rachel Swick,
Press And Journal reporter, is along for the ride and will documenting each adventure in order to report back to readers.
The group arrived in Puenta de Banda, the town where we will be staying in the Baja-region of Mexico on Tuesday after a quick tour of San Diego. We
flew United out of Harrisburg to Chicago, then to San Diego, where we were met by our tour guides, JJ and Abbey.
John Williams, the Middletown Legion baseball coach organized the trip. JJ is his son. About two years ago, JJ and his wife, Abbey, decided to sell
everything they owned in California and move to Mexico to open an organization to help pair volunteers with charity organizations here. They succeeded
in creating Lantern on the Hill, which has made a difference in every day lives already, said Abbey. "We hope to continue working hard and later
expand to help more people, but right now, the economy and swine flu concerns from the United States have cut our volunteers in half," said Abbey.
Actually volunteer groups visiting Mexico have been cut by more than half. As have tourist groups visiting the area.
Usually, the port in Ensenada has at least two cruise ships docked, but for the past month, Abbey and her staff have not seen a single one. Until
today. As we were driving from California to Baja, we passed through Ensenada and there was a cruise ship there. But, later when we arrived at the
resort hostel, we were told that even though the ship is there, it doesn't mean tourism dollars will start flowing again.
Javier, a partner of Lantern on the Hill, said many of the people who came in on the cruise ship were to scared to get off at the Ensenada port. He
said he hopes people learn that swine flu does not affect this area of Mexico. Javier told the baseball group he hopes they learn a lot from this
experience and take the new knowledge back to the United States to tell others how safe the region really is. Rachel will be on assignment in Mexico
until Sunday, June 15.
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Day 2: Middletown group teaches baseball in rural village
http://www.pressandjournal.com/articleDetail.aspx?ID=2405
For photos go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pressandjournal/
by Rachel Swick
6/10/2009
In the second day of the trip to Baja, Mexico, the Middletown Legion baseball players got down to business. The group toured a local village, saw a
small school, learned about Agua Viva, a charity group that provides day care in the area, and set up a very successful baseball clinic.
It is hard to say what the highlight of today, Wednesday, June 10 was. Was it the small Mexican children smiling from ear to ear as they ran the bases
after hitting a ground ball? Was it the educational experience of learning what life is like here in Baja? Or was it watching Middletown Legion
players perform in such a responsible, caring and mature way? All of these things made Day 2 a success.
John Williams, Middletown Legion coach and organizer of this trip which brought seven teenage baseball players to a rural area of Baja, Mexico, could
not thank his players enough today. He thanked them for caring for the local children and for giving their all to the baseball clinic. Basically, he
thanked them for acting in a way that is a credit to Middletown. "I was so impressed with the boys today," said Williams. "They overcame a language
barrier and really taught these (Baja) kids how to play." The children of the village gave 110 percent today. As soon as they saw us coming with the
baseball equipment, they were ready to play. We played for nearly five hours in the sun, wind and dust, but no one complained. People got hit with
balls, but no one complained.
The entire group celebrated back at the resort where we all are staying. We also talked about how the poverty and sheer giddiness of the children
affected us. And, we ate amazing fish tacos. Tonight, we are building a bonfire and will talk more.
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Day 3 of volunteer trip to Baja, Mexico
http://www.pressandjournal.com/articleDetail.aspx?ID=2406
by Rachel Swick
6/12/2009
Seven players and six coaches from the Middletown Legion baseball team traveled to the Baja-region of Mexico to volunteer, learn about the culture and
to teach baseball clinics in local villages. Press And Journal reporter Rachel Swick went along to document the trip and report back to readers.
During the third day of our volunteer trip to Mexico, the group went to Casa Esperanza, a local women’s shelter that provides housing for women and
children, as well as a day care center. The group worked at the shelter clearing weeds, cleaning up a courtyard where the children play and building
walls around two gardens to make the area safer for the children. Safety is a big concern at these charity locations because the government inspects
them and could shut them down if it is deemed unsafe. Recently, a fire in Mexico City killed more than 40 children at a day care center, so the
agencies are even more proactive about safety concerns. The women that run Casa Esperanza would not be able to do all the work to make the place as
safe as possible.
This is where volunteer groups come in. All of the charity organizations in this area depend greatly on volunteers coming in from the United States.
Without these volunteers, much of the good work they do here would be undone. The group worked for about two hours at the shelter and left it looking
much nicer. After a quick lunch, we headed back to the village where we conducted the baseball clinic on Wednesday.
The children in the village saw us coming and ran out to meet the truck, so that they could have first pick of the equipment. They tried on everything
– every glove, every helmet and even put on the catcher’s equipment. Their smiles were contagious.
Soon we had two fields going – one with the littler children hitting off a tee and the other with the older children hitting pitches thrown by
Middletown Legion’s Ryan Trafecanty. Everyone was having fun and even with just a few Spanish words and gestures, the boys were able to improve the
skills of the children. Although, I must say, the children picked up the game very quickly. It was amazing to see them learn and then want to
improve..
Back at the house later that night, we all talked about our experiences. Abby Williams, wife of Middletown-native JJ Williams, and co-founder of
Lantern on a Hill, the charity organization that brought our group here, told us how our presence in the village touched the children there. “One of
the hard parts for us is when the groups leave. We have to figure out how to keep these things going without the group. The kids, literally, don’t
want to miss the event of playing today, because they know this doesn’t happen every day. And, they know this isn’t going to happen tomorrow,” Abby
said. “There are a lot of things that are very real and scary in their lives and days like today, when they play and improve their skills … it gives
them hope.”
Michael Williams, a coach for Middletown Legion baseball and JJ’s brother, said he was impressed with how the Legion players showed their maturity
during the day. “Everyone seemed to take the lead and work with the kids. No one was standing back,” said Michael. “The kids really retained what we
had worked on with them yesterday.” Denny Bailey, assistant coach for the Legion team, said the experience has been a special one for him. “This has
been better than what I expected,” said Bailey.
“Working with the kids has been the highlight for me.” Brett Relken, one of the Legion players, said he liked how the clinic was able to progress on
the second day. “We were more organized today,” said Relken. “I liked seeing the kids improve.” Middletown’s Robbie Brodish said it was easy to teach
the kids because he only had to show them once and they knew how to do it. “I didn’t know what to expect coming here, but it has been a good
experience,” Brodish said. “I really am enjoying this trip and I want to come back again,” said Legion player Brandon Popp. “The food is amazing and I
play baseball all day – those are my two favorite things in life. Just hanging out with these kids … no matter what they are doing, they are having
fun. They make me laugh. It’s a great experience and I am enjoying every minute.”
Seth Myers, another Middletown player, said this experience makes him realize more about himself and makes him want to be a better person. “These kids
just really want to improve themselves. The one kid I was working with in the outfield kept telling me to back up, so he could see how far he would
throw it. I’m not sure we would see that with an American kid,” said Myers. “It just really impressed me. This trip has been teaching me a lot. I have
been thinking about what I want to do at home and that I should be helping my mom more and be less selfish.”
Joe Trafecanty, Ryan’s dad, said he was most impressed by the sacrifice and hard work exhibited by Abby and JJ Williams, who help people every day. “I
just realized that this is what (their) life is all about and how unselfish they are,” said Trafecanty. “Seeing your life and realizing how hard it
is, really says something about who you are.”
Chasen Baker, Legion’s first baseman, said he didn’t expect the trip to go this well. “On the second day, I saw how ready the kids were to come out.
They got their gloves and bats and helmets and got started.” The entire group talked about how amazing it was to see nine out of 10 kids get a solid
hit while batting. “We like to say that we were letting them get off easy, but really they were getting (balls) past us. They were hitting to the
holes,” said Baker. “They were hard hits.” Brendan Parkill, one of the players, said he realized the kids would never stop playing unless the group
had to stop to leave. They would have played all day, Parkhill noted. “I think it’s great how we helped at the women’s shelter today,” said Parkhill.
Even the volunteers at Lantern on a Hill were excited after the day. “I think it is important that when you are helping people, you are also learning
from them. You can learn so much from these kids,” said Kayla. “I think we all under-estimated what these kids could do,” said John Parkhill,
Brendan’s father. “They have incredible eye-hand coordination. There were very few misses (at bat) unlike at home where kids play video games all the
time. And, from what we’ve been told, the kids here have almost no baseball background. But, you never would have guessed that because they picked it
up so quickly.”
“You come down here to teach these kids and you go home with so much more from what these kids taught us,” said John Williams. While we taught the
kids here about baseball, they gave us valuable insight about our character and who we want to be.
Rachel will be on assignment in Mexico until Sunday, June 15. Please view the video from Day 3 on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos.
View the pictures at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pressandjournal/
And, visit the Press And Journal on Facebook.
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BajaNews
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Players, coaches from Middletown American Legion land in Mexico
http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2009/06/players_c...
Posted by ERIC F. EPLER
For The Patriot-News
June 11, 2009, 8:17 PM
Despite the slag economy and swing flu scare, John Williams wasn't about to let this latest opportunity to visit Mexico pass him by. The reward, he
told The Patriot-News a week ago, was too valuable. Well, Middletown's American Legion baseball coach, seven of his players, and five area coaches
have arrived just outside of Ensenada in Baja, where the group will conduct clinics at Lantern on the Hill. The organization, starting by JJ Williams,
John's son, and wife Abbey helps bring together volunteers and charity organizations.
Visitors stay on site and learn about Mexico's rich culture in this region. The team also will help support a day care center and women's shelter.
Through large donations, team members and coaches also will distribute baseball equipment to children in the surrounding communities.
Check out a slideshow on the group's first few hours at Lantern on the Hill.
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