Youth Academies bolstered by golf tourney

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- A year ago, the annual Celebrity Golf Invitational at The Resort at Pelican Hill had to be put on hold during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But with the tournament's return in 2021, the goal is for the charity event and its impact to continue to grow youth baseball around the U.S.

Proceeds from Monday’s charity golf tournament in Newport Beach, hosted by former All-Stars Torii Hunter and Gary Matthews Jr., will be donated to the MLB Youth Academy in Compton. Another portion is also being donated to the Youth Academy in New Orleans to help restore parts of the academy damaged by recent storms.

The hope for the future of the charity event is to help support each of the MLB Youth Academies across the nation like the ones in Philadelphia, Kansas City and Cincinnati.

“[The event] used to be only for the Urban Youth Academy here in Compton,” Hunter said. “But now we're going to New Orleans and before you know it, we're in Chicago, in the Bronx. We're going to be pretty much doing it everywhere. So sometimes you’ve got to crawl before you walk, you’ve got to plant those seeds, and those seeds will grow. And that's what we're trying to do with the MLB Urban Youth Initiative.”

MLB operates nine youth academies across the U.S. The academies provide free on-field baseball and softball training year-round. The academies also provide off-the-field resources like tutoring and ACT and SAT prep as well as vocational programming that offers academy participants and local community members the chance to attend free seminars on umpiring, athletic field management, scouting and player development, public relations, sports and broadcast journalism and statistics.

For Matthews, helping provide resources for the young men and women who take part in the academies is “imperative” to him as he hopes for charitable efforts like Monday’s to continue to grow.

“When I look at this growth, this is just one day, right? This is one day,” Matthews said. “[It’s] a tournament where we raise money for the flagship academy of Compton, but also the academy in New Orleans as well because of the hurricane damage that they had. … This is something being a father of a young daughter, [a] 17-year-old daughter, they're also doing a lot of work in girls’ softball, and so it's creating opportunities for young women as well. And that's something that's important to me.”

Since opening in 2006, MLB’s Youth Academy in Compton has helped over 10,000 young men and women in Southern California. In total, more than 16,000 young men and women have been supported across MLB’s nine academies with an additional 25,000 through programs and tournaments.

There have also been nearly 165 alumni from MLB’s Youth Academies who have been drafted by MLB clubs, including the Mets' Dominic Smith, the Mariners' J.P. Crawford and Reds top prospect Hunter Greene.

Greene, who is a Los Angeles native and an alumnus of the Compton academy, emphasized the importance of giving back as he hopes to continue supporting MLB’s youth programs.

“I think the most important thing was just me being a kid there at the Youth Academy and seeing the difference that players made, that coaches made throughout kids’ lives, and whether it was on the field or off the field,” Greene said. “Being able to give them that opportunity to be around those things and to experience that and actually see the players that were once in their shoes and to see them actually become successful and how they're great citizens for the game of baseball on the field and off the field [is important].”

MLB chief baseball development officer and former Angels general manager Tony Reagins said the return of the event was a crucial step in supporting youth after last year’s tournament was put on hold.

Reagins added that supporting the academies through events like Monday’s are critical and something he can relate to.

“I was one of those kids that, you know, growing up, it was a challenge,” Reagins said. “But along the way, somebody gave me an opportunity. And that's what I try to do on a daily basis is really create opportunities for the less fortunate. That work never stops. And it's ultimately what we're called to do as human beings is being good people and support those that can't afford to take part in things like Youth Academy that we offer.”