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All American Game  | Story  | 8/18/2024

PGAA Visits Valencia Newcomer School

Jim Salisbury     
PHOENIX, Arizona -- Before balls started flying and mitts started popping at Chase Field, the featured performers from the 22nd annual Perfect Game Dick's All-American Classic boarded a couple of buses and made a 15-minute drive to the Valencia Newcomer School.
 
Sixty-four elite-level baseball prospects beginning their senior year in high school met 125 young elementary-age school children who had recently settled in the United States with their families.
 
The young students came from 20 different countries and 13 different languages were spoken among the group.
 
But this did not create a bonding challenge.
 
No. Not at all.
 
“We all smile in the same language,” Principal Lynette Wegner said.
 
Smiles abounded during PG’s third visit to the school in as many years.
 
In Mrs. Phillips’ classroom, the ballplayers sat at small tables and played Jenga with young students. Bursts of laughter filled the room when the blocks came tumbling down.
 
Just down the way, in Mr. Montoya’s classroom, PG players danced and laughed with a group of young students as a Kidz Bop music video played. Eventually, the dancing stopped as a young boy produced a toy baseball bat and several sponge baseballs. Before you knew it, a full round of batting practice had broken out in the classroom. “Keep your head still,” one of the PG players told a young boy as he took his swings. Mr. Montoya translated that little bit of coaching into Spanish and – boom! – a double off the wall.
 
“That was a lot of fun,” said Dean Moss, an outfielder from Atherton, California and an LSU commit. “These kids are great.”
 
The dedicated staff at the Valencia Newcomer School would agree.
 
“We have the honor to support their first school experience in America,” said Wegner, who helped found the school in 2017. “Many don’t speak English, but don’t let that fool you – they are super smart.”
 
Wegner explained that the staff at Valencia is trained to help children who have been through trauma.
 
“Transitioning from another country can come with a lot of trauma,” she said. “We have families from all over the world, from Congo to Afghanistan and many more. We just got a little Ukrainian kindergartener who actually had to go shelter in place while he was in school just three months ago in his home country. So, he’s had a lot of trauma.
 
“We provide a place for our students to feel safe and comfortable as they learn English. We also teach them some math and science.
 
“They’re just like everyone else. They may have different stories, and they may have different backgrounds, but they’re still children and they’re still learners.”
 
Students at the Valencia Newcomer School stay less than a year. Their progress is evaluated in 15-day increments and they “graduate” to an elementary school in the Alhambra School District when ready.
 
The Arizona Diamondbacks are strong supporters of the Valencia Newcomer School so it seemed like a natural fit for Perfect Game to also lend a hand when the All-American Classic came to town in 2022. 
 
“The work this school does … ,” marveled longtime PG executive vice president/general manager Brad Clement. “It’s a fabulous connection for us.”
 
According to Clement, PG makes a significant financial donation to children’s charities in the Phoenix area, including Make-A-Wish. Players and their families also make donations through various fundraising efforts. The organization has long served children’s charities, financially and with the gift of time.
 
PG senior adviser Clint Hurdle, the former major league player and manager of the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, loves the yearly trip to the Valencia Newcomer School.
 
“These are kids that need a little hug,” Hurdle said between visits to classrooms. “Not any of us can even fathom what they’re feeling or the circumstances they’ve gone through. It’s just about giving them a hug and helping them through the day with a smile and a laugh.
 
“It’s a joy seeing our kids interact with these young students.”
 
The PG players genuinely had fun during their visit to the Valencia Newcomer School. There were as many smiles on the PG kids’ faces as there were on the faces of the young students. The PG players spent the morning with small groups in classrooms and the gymnasium then everybody got together for lunch in the cafeteria.
 
The learning didn’t stop there.
 
And sometimes, it was the PG kids who were doing the learning.
 
With the help of Google Translate, Omar Serna Jr., a catcher from Pearland, Texas, and an LSU commit, shared a conversation with a young boy from Indonesia.
 
Sean Gamble, an outfielder from Des Moines, Iowa and a Vanderbilt commit, spent time at a table talking with a young student from Rwanda.
 
“We were learning about him,” Gamble said. “He said he was from Africa and this was his first year here. He likes to play soccer. He has two brothers and a sister and they all go here. And he misses home a lot. We asked him what home was like and he said he sees lions all the time. Exciting. It was pretty eye-opening.”
 
Sounds like a successful day for the Perfect Game crew. And no one had even laced up their spikes yet.
 
“I’m just thankful for the partnership with PG and I hope we continue it,” Wegner said. “They’re inspiring, they’re empowering, they’re authentic. We appreciate them for seeing our children for who they are -- little gifts running around ready to share their stories with the world.”
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