Local Young Athletes Experience Major League Baseball With The Chicago White Sox

Student Athletes Rashaun Harris, James Nash, Parker Jones and Amir Walker are part of White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) 13U. They were chosen to attend the Chicago White Sox training camp. Chicago White Sox.
Student Athletes Rashaun Harris, James Nash, Parker Jones and Amir Walker are part of White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) 13U. They were chosen to attend the Chicago White Sox training camp. Chicago White Sox.

Local Young Athletes Experience Major League Baseball With The Chicago White Sox

By Tia Carol Jones

 Four South Side student athletes had the opportunity to attend Spring Training camp with the Chicago White Sox recently.  The White Sox Amateur City Elite (ACE) 13U players Rashaun Harris, James Nash, Parker Jones and Amir Walker were chosen to spend a few days at the Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz.

The White Sox ACE Program was founded in 2007 to provide mentorship, academic support and wellness resources, in addition to baseball instruction, to young people in under resourced communities. Since its founding, the White Sox ACE program has assisted more than 320 participants move toward higher education. According to the program’s representatives, it has become a national model for growing the game of baseball in urban communities.

Troy Williams II, Manager of ACE and Community Programs, said Harris, Nash, Jones and Walker were chosen to participate because of their accomplishments on and off the baseball field. He said they are all good students in the classroom, they represent themselves and their families well, including the White Sox organization. He said they wanted to ensure they were intentional about choosing young people who had personality, could have fun, while representing Chicago well.

Walker, a student at the Galileo Scholastic Academy, said it was fun being able to meet all the Chicago White Sox players and being able to go on the field. He said he also enjoyed learning new pitch grips and getting insight from the players. Jones, a student at Vanderpoel Elementary School, said it was fun introducing himself and getting to know everyone within the organization. Harris, a student at the Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, said the players were welcoming and so were the coaches. He said he liked being able to learn more about baseball.

“This experience of being around all the big league guys makes me feel like I’m a big leaguer myself, as a 13-year-old, and I really valued that,” said Nash, a student at St. Thomas the Apostle. He added that he learned infielder Lenyn Sosa’s mentality, which is something he really wants to add to his game.

Walker said he learned about infielder Chase Meidroth’s competitiveness and it is something he would be applying to his game play. Jones said catcher Korey Lee taught him better ways to catch the ball, receive the ball and how to plant his foot. Harris said that pitcher Shane Smith taught him new pitch grips and how to apply them to his game. Williams said that with the student athletes being able to have the experience of attending spring training and interact with White Sox players gives them more real-life experience.

“They see these guys on TV, and they see them performing at their highest level, and maybe at a game, but being able to see the behind the scenes of how they prepare is more important for young people,” Williams said. “Seeing all of the work they put in behind the scenes is a pretty valuable lesson.”

Williams said it was special for the student athletes to see how big-league baseball players prepare for a 162-game season. Walker said the highlight of the experience was him being able to go on the field and the practice field. He said he was able to feel the difference between the field he plays on and the field a major league player is on.

Nash said the highlight of his experience was taking the infield with Colson Montgomery. Harris said the highlight of experience was getting to see the players warm up. Jones said the highlight of his experience was catching with the catchers and learning from them. Williams acknowledged United Airlines for helping them to get to Arizona.

For more information about the White Sox ACE program, visit https://tinyurl.com/4nj5hmkr.

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