Free baseball program for kids back for another year

The Hayward Police Department Youth and Family Services Bureau (YFSB), in partnership with the San Francisco Giants Community Fund, is gearing up for another successful season of the Hayward Junior Giants. Registration opens April 15 for the season starting June 17. Online sign-ups for players ages 5 to 14 is available here or at www.gojrgiants.org by selecting Hayward as your league.

Parent volunteers and high school age Junior Coaches are needed. Stipends or community service hours are available for youth coaches.

Entering its 18th year, the free Junior Giants program has given thousands of Hayward youth the opportunity to learn basic baseball skills, as well as important character building and life skills in a fun, non-competitive environment. Boys and girls are given the opportunity to play baseball, while focusing on the four bases of character development: confidence, teamwork, leadership and integrity. Each year, interest in the Hayward program grows. A record number of families signed up to participate last year and another large turnout is expected for the 2019 season.

Junior Giants is the flagship program of the Giants Community Fund, which serves more than 25,000 boys and girls in 88 underserved communities throughout northern and central California, Nevada and southern Oregon. Not only does Hayward have one of the largest leagues in the program, it also has one of the best. The Hayward League of the Junior Giants was again named an “exemplary league” in an impact report prepared by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The Junior Giants

program was originally created to give youth an alternative to drugs, gangs and crime. The Hayward league provides exactly this opportunity. Beyond baseball, players get to enjoy positive interactions with the School Resource Officers who are their coaches. There also is additional programming that encourages healthy eating, violence prevention and the importance of education.

The season will kick off with the First Pitch Meeting on Thursday, May 30, at 4:30pm at King Middle School, but signup online beforehand. If you need help with registration, YFSB staff will be available on May 8 from 5 p.m. to 7p.m. at the Weekes Branch of the Hayward Public Library and on June 5 at the Hayward Police Department from noon to 6 p.m. All games and practices take place at Larry Standley Field at Weekes Park. To learn more, call (510) 293-3333 or email hayward.juniorgiants@hayward-ca.gov. You also can follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @HaywardJuniorGiants.