On the morning of May 4, manager Eric Figueroa of the D-Backs Baseball Academy and his staff of coaches brought the warm weather with them for a beautiful day of baseball at the Way of Life Facility (WOLF) Little League Field. The occasion was the Youth Baseball Clinic sponsored by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Recreational Services hosted the clinic, which gave 92 Community kids the opportunity to learn and practice Major League Baseball pitching, hitting, fielding and base-running.

Figueroa said the event was a “community-corporate clinic” for the SRPMIC because of the Community’s partnership with the Diamondbacks through the Talking Stick Resort enterprise.

“Out here with the Community, providing basic instruction for these kids who don’t [often] get the opportunity to be at a clinic like this, or to be around the game of baseball, our job is to hopefully one day turn them into good ballplayers,” said Figueroa.

“As you can see, they’re having a great time.”

Figueroa said the mission is not only to turn the kids into better ballplayers, but also to have them fall in love with the game.

Throughout the morning, youth from ages 5 to 12 were divided into groups by age to give them more one-on-one instruction with the coaches. They then made their way around the field for the series of skill drills.

“We appreciate the D-Backs staff for helping to teach our children the fundamentals of baseball and giving them an opportunity to learn from experienced players,” said Recreational Services Athletic Manager David Willis.

Willis added that most of the players who participated in this clinic will also participate in the 8- to 12-year-olds division of the FYSL Softball League, a semi-competitive coed youth softball league starting in June.