East Palo Alto T-Ball and Pitching Machine baseball

Congrats Antonio for Graduating from CCFD

Tatiana Weiford

My name is Tatiana Weiford and I was a part of the East Palo Alto T-Ball Team from a very young age. I still feel a part of it today. That team did so much to craft my future and thoughts about education. The East Palo Alto Team made my first college tour possible. They took us to see Stanford University in California and I was blown away. It had already been instilled in me that I would attend college, but this visit solidified it. In high school, I was the student team manager for the varsity basketball, junior varsity basketball, and varsity baseball teams for my junior and senior year. The East Palo Alto T-Ball team taught me to love being on a team even if I did not want to play the sport! The athletic director said I changed the face of sports management for my high school, but I was just proud to be a part of the action. Being a team player is something that is important in all walks of life. Most occupations require teamwork, and I was able to see that at a young age with my teammates, my coaches, and Coach Tate. I am now attending the esteemed Virginia State University on a full academic scholarship as a Presidential STEM Scholar as a Biology major. Coach Tate’s contacts and connections were instrumental in me winning the Crescent Moon Scholarship which is helping me to study abroad in the Spring in Dubai. I am so thankful for the experiences I was able to have with the East Palo Alto T-Ball Program. This program is not just about baseball (even though I still love baseball and go to my own school’s games), it is also about learning, team building, and education.

Azaan Ali

I am Azaan Ali. From Las Vegas, Nevada I currently attend Shaw University (Raleigh, NC), and major in Mass Communications. Though I enjoy audio engineering, and videography my favorite past time would have to be sports, mainly basketball and baseball. Only difference between these sports is that I played baseball from 10 years old up until I was 18, and each year my passion for the game grew. Coach Tate was a huge influence because he instilled in me that sports would be there it is about your education. In the 7^th grade I got an opportunity to receive the Sue Burns Scholarship through the San Francisco Giants, and when I graduated I was awarded the scholarship, in which my mother stood in my place to receive because I had started my freshman year in college. I enjoy coaching, baseball and mentoring in general because I know that when I was younger looking up to positive influences benefited me to the fullest, on and off of the field.

Ayinde Tate

Ayinde Tate is currently an academic advisor/college counselor at Freire Charter School located in Philadelphia, PA. He is also a therapist who provides individual and family counseling to underserved youth from across the city of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of La Salle University with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology. He later went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania earning a Master’s in Education in School and Mental Health Counseling.

In 1992, Ayinde began participating in the East Palo Alto T-ball/Pitching Machine League during its inaugural season. He was an active player in the league and took part in the many educational and fundamental workshops made available throughout his time in the league. When he was no longer able to participate as a player he began to volunteer by assisting with practice prep, working in the snack bar, acting as an umpire, and assisting with organization of workshops. After graduating from La Salle University he moved back to the Bay Area began working for a San Mateo County shelter. He remained in the position of a shelter care counselor for three years before returning to Philadelphia in order to work as the Director of After School Activities with the Netter Center for Community Partnership. While in this role he began to work towards his MSEd in School and Mental Health Counseling at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. His desire for education was strongly influenced by his participation in the East Palo Alto T-Ball/Pitching Machine League, because although it was a sports league it emphasized the importance and power of education. Ayinde still has strong ties in the program and assists with their annual fundraiser in order to provide the same opportunity he had to today’s youth.

Antonieyo City

My name is Antonieyo City. I am a former student/athlete of the Jr. Giants now named East Palo Alto Tee Ball and pitching out in Las Vegas, NV. I joined the Jr. Giants as an "athlete" at the age of 5 (17 years ago) when the program had just begun in Las Vegas under the leadership of Gene Tate. That same year I joined as an athlete I quickly learned that I was much more than that in the program, I was also and more importantly a student. 17 years later I am still a student under the leadership of Gene Tate.

East Palo Alto Tee Ball and pitching machine is much more than a sports club. It is a free and providing mentorship where student are taught: life lessons, applying life skills, Diversity (age, race, & background) commitment, honesty, confidence, loyalty, friendship, respect for not only themselves but also others, and also being the best they can possibly be in any career/field. Not only are the athletes students but also the parents as it is a strong and a true statement that it takes a village to raise a child. The goal of the program is to provide knowledge and an end goal to achieve excellence.

As the age group of the program falls between 4-14 years of age. 10 years passed my "expiration" date I still to this day find my way onto the field not to participate but to get involved and give back to not only Coach Tate but to give back to what the program has gave to me. Where exactly has this program led me?

I am currently a college student in Minneapolis, MN at Anoka Ramsey CC. Where I am currently studying Physical Therapy Assisting (PTA) and EMT as a junior. While also in school I am a certified personal training, certified in Athletic training, and a specialist in Biomechanics. In the near future I plan to return home as a member of Las Vegas fire department while continuing my studies. On top on school I work for 3 major companies: "Boston scientific" where I assemble medical equipment, Orange Theory fitness, and Title Boxing, where I promote health and wellness.

What this program has taught me is to never give up, stay humble, stay respectful, and work hard. Even if its not something directly you were looking for something great will come about.

Donyell Johnson

1992 was the first year I started playing baseball and also the first year the league was founded. I remember the games were at Jack Ferral Park in East Palo Alto. There were a couple of things that really stood out to me that first year of playing t-ball. One of those things was the parents' commitment who showed up for us and coached, including my grandpa who drove a 15 passenger van to pick up the kids who needed some help to get to the park to play. It showed how much dedication went into providing a space to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. The league was a place to bring us kids together and give us something to do when there wasn’t much to do. Even parents who were working, trying to survive could drop their kids at practice and know they were in good hands for a great cause. Baseball was a good distraction for a lot of kids and helping us not get in trouble, it was also where I was began to understand some fundamental life values. These values included respecting your team, the coach, the game, and the growth and how this would mold me into the person I am today.

A couple of years later, I transitioned to the Junior Giants and then playing fast-pitch baseball at Martin Luther King Jr. Park while also playing football for the Nabata Yero Warriors. Eventually, I moved to Sunnyvale, where I played baseball and football for Sunnyvale National and Pop Warner, collectively winning three regional, two national championships, and playing for the All-Star team between the two sports. Later, I played football at Fremont High School and De Anza College, all while the values I learned in those first years of t-ball just continued to become stronger and strong over the years.

After graduating high school, I gained a HVAC certificate and soon found myself in manager position, leading work teams. Emphasizing their strengths and building up their weaknesses, always playing the coach. I transitioned into new roles easier, assimilated to the teams I was leading faster, earning trust and credibility quickly. While building myself in the work field, I started to coach my own sports teams, knowing that it’s truly a gift to the community, a way for me to give back after what it gave me. I moved on to purchase a home - which we know isn’t easy to do here all on your own. The discipline and perseverance it took were the same that I learned on the field. Now, I’ve got two boys who now play sports of their own, learning the same values I did. All of the success rippled from one person who wanted to make a difference.

I would like to say thank you to the T-ball Negro League, Junior Giants, Pop Warner, Sunnyvale National, all of the coaches and parents who have participated, and a special thanks to Gene Tate, my grandfather!!!

D’Vonye Jackson

My name is D’Vonye Jackson and I am 2nd semester freshman currently attending Arizona State University on the Polytechnic campus. The Jr. Giants baseball program lead by Gene Tate in the city of Las Vegas has pushed me to achieve my goal of becoming an engineer since kindergarten.

From the first day of the program the main priority of the coaches and staff was to push the importance of a proper education. Every month there was a check for progress reports given by the school district for the younger players and every quarter there were checks for report cards from the older players. I sometimes recall the days when the coach would scold the kids that did poorly in their academics and have even gone to wonder the embarrassment one felt when put into that situation. After baseball practice was over that day, those that did poorly were given the option to go to the tutoring center within the area. The coaches could never force the player to do something, but as long as someone showed any need of help, they always had a group to welcome them and help them understand whatever knowledge they lacked.

However, book intellect wasn’t the only form of academic integrity enforced. Wisdom was taught to be just as important as scholastics and every year coach Tate would take a group of us on the baseball team to different college campuses to experience what it’s like to be in the realm of higher education. I remember back in 2008 when I was going into the 3rd grade, Coach Tate took us to go tour the campus of California Institute of Technology. The vast amount of students coming to learn and the mere size of the coming to campus overwhelmed me as a child, but looking back on it, moments such as these helped me prepare for where I am today. Going to another state for school and being away from home have caused many students to dropout of college and I believe Mr. Tate understood concepts such as these better than anyone else. After touring the college campus that year we would go to museums and important landmarks within the area and learn about the historical events that took place during the specified period.

Within Las Vegas, the program was oriented in the Doolittle Recreation Center, the heart of what many would call the ghetto of the city. This allowed for a variety of cultures to come together and share something in common while being able to set aside our differences and have fun playing baseball.

Theron Jones

Growing up in East Palo Alto in the late 80s / early 90s, one of the most fondest memories I have is playing T-ball. The Blue Jays was my first T-ball team, and though I've never been to Toronto, it is still one of my favorite teams in MLB. Jack Farrell Park was a hot spot in the early 2000s, but I always had earlier memories that connected me to that part of town, regardless of squabbles defined by territory. T-Ball did not shape me into a man, it didn't give me any blinding insights into life, but it did give me an appreciation of community and of baseball in general. I left EPA to attend Emory University, once I graduated from there I began my career in finance at ETrade. In 2015 I relocated back to the Bay Area for a job opportunity at TD Bank, then spent a little time running a tech boot camp before returning to ETrade in the Los Angeles area. Even after leaving EPA for college at Emory University in Atlanta in 2003, starting a career in Finance in 2007, and coming back to California in 2015, I still hold T-ball as a cornerstone in my childhood.

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