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Giving Their Home Field The Advantage: The Dodgers Foundation & PCA-LA

10.23.2018

Nichol Whiteman discusses how The Dodgers Foundation is PCA-Infused


Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) and Positive Coaching Alliance- Los Angeles (PCA-LA) impact underserved youth on the fields and in the classroom.

Los Angeles, CA – Preparation for another Dodgers World Series run started in the Spring. And so did Dodgers RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) Softball Coach, Soledad Solis. Her season culminated by being congratulated by Dodgers Coach Dave Roberts for winning one of five Dodgers RBI Positive Coach of the Year Awards. The pregame ceremony in September is one of several ways the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and Positive Coaching Alliance’s LA Chapter team up to impact underserved youth in Southern California together.


Their partnership, which started in 2016, has impacted over 10,000 youth baseball and softball players in the Dodgers RBI Program and over 3,000 high school and middle school student athletes at Title 1 schools in LAUSD. Soledad coaches youth softball in the Dodgers RBI Program and High School Softball at Lace Magnet School. She has been trained by PCA to be a Double-Goal Coachâ, striving to win but focusing on teaching life lessons. All student-athletes at Lace will be trained as a Triple-Impact Competitorâ, making themselves, their teammates and the game better, by PCA-LA this fall through a LADF funded school program with PCA called “Sports Teach.”

"Sports done right can teach the life lessons needed to succeed: Grit, perseverance, teamwork, overcoming adversity and character just to name a few. Our partnership with LADF has impacted thousands of kids and coaches from the Dodgers RBI Program to high school and middle school student-athletes in Title1 schools, to the philanthropic community supporting youth and high school sports. The LADF has a true vision of the benefits or participating in sports. We are honored to work with the great people at the LADF and look forward to continued impact,” says Alan Berkes, Executive Director of PCA-Los Angeles.

PCA has already trained student-athletes in 15 Middle Schools and 10 High Schools as part of the “Sports Teach”, Student-Athlete program. High School student-athletes receive a live Workshop and curriculum about Character Development and a Elevate Your Game book written by PCA Founder and CEO Jim Thompson. Middle School students are trained at a practice by one of several certified PCA Trainers who are experienced coaches, Athletic Directors and educators. 2,500 student-athletes have participated so far.


These live Workshops for the students are part of PCA’s Development Zone® curriculum brought to schools and youth sports organizations all around the country. Coaches, athletes and parents all receive sports-based youth development training to ensure young people have a positive youth sports experience, particularly in underserved communities where education and resources are needed most. For example, the LADF “Sports Teach” program was designed to expand PCA-LA’s Coach Education partnership with the CIF LA City Section, where over 1,500 coaches representing all CIF sports have been certified a Double-Goal Coachâ through PCA Workshops funded by the LA84 Foundation. Over 400 Dodgers RBI Coaches have also been certified through the LA84 Foundation and PCA-LA Coach Education Partnership. And Major League Baseball and LADF supports Parent programming in the stands at Dodgers youth camps and at the beginning and end of each Dodgers RBI Season for Dodgers RBI parents.

Nichol Whiteman, Executive Director, LADF adds, “Sports is loud. But sports-based youth development needs to be louder. Through partnerships such as the one with Positive Coaching Alliance, we can not only amplify the work we are doing together in the community but we can produce outcomes such as social-emotional learning, self-confidence, higher participation, and engagement. It’s important that we train our Dodgers RBI Coaches, reach the kids who not only play in our program but all kids who play sports in our high schools and after-school programs. Their health and well-being directly impact their ability to succeed in life.”


To acknowledge the tremendous impact the two organizations accomplish together, PCA honored the LADF as the 2018 Community Impact Award Winner at their March Positive Impact Awards hosted by the LA84 Foundation. The LADF is focused on finding innovative ways to create opportunities for children through programs that engage with kids in sports, helps kids stay active and promote academic success. Through their Dodgers Dreamfields, Dodgers RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) and LA Reads programs, LADF uses the power of baseball to increase access to education, literacy, health, wellness and recreational resources in underserved communities. Renata Simril, CEO of the LA84 Foundation, which won the Community Impact Award last year, presented the award to Nichol Whiteman, Executive Director of LADF.

The Positive Impact Awards raised $30,000 in college scholarships for (10) High School student-athletes. Past scholarship winners in 2016 and 2017 have been recognized during on-field presentations at Dodger Stadium as part of a LADF Giving Moment. The Dodgers RBI Coaches were thrilled to take their turn to see themselves on the jumbotron, shake the hands of one of best role models in all of coaching and be rewarded for the impact they make on our youth.


About Positive Coaching Alliance

Contact: Alan Berkes – Tel: 310-773-0128 – Cell: 424-247-3104 – Email: alan_berkes@positivecoach.org
Website / Facebook / Twitter

Positive Coaching Alliance is a national non-profit working to develop Better Athletes, Better People by partnering with youth and high school athletic programs to provide young athletes with a positive, character-building youth sports experience. The Los Angeles Chapter opened in 2015 and serves youth sports organizations, schools and communities from San Diego to Santa Barbara. More information can be found at: www.losangeles.positivecoach.org follow us: 

Twitter: @PositiveCoachLA
Facebook: @PositveCoachLA
Instagram: pca_losangeles
 

About the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is the official team charity of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Its primary focus is to support cornerstone programs in Sports + Recreation, Education + Literacy and Health + Wellness benefitting children and families in need throughout the greater Los Angeles region. By leveraging strategic partnerships, the mission is to harness the power of the Dodger brand and the passion our fans have for Los Angeles into a vehicle for positive change in under-served communities. Visit the Dodgers Foundation online at www.dodgers.com/ladf, follow them:

Twitter @DodgersFdn
Instagram @dodgersfoundation 
Facebook: LosAngelesDodgersFoundation

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