Ex-Dodger Pitches Baseball Basics

Former Dodger Manny Mota gave lessons in the basics of baseball to a group of aspiring South Bay athletes Tuesday, as the L.A. Kids Sports Academy began a second season of free training for low-income youth at Hansen Dam Sports Center.

“These kids can’t go to a camp that costs $300 a week,” said Academy director Gary Bond. “We feel by having these free programs, we’ll be introducing them to the game and they’ll be learning about the basics of life.”

Last summer, sessions in pitching, batting and base running were open to boys only, but this year a girls’ softball component was added. Camp coordinators said they hope to coach nearly 1,000 youths this summer in a series of four-day training sessions.

The campers, aged 9-15, were hand-picked by directors from 98 recreation centers in underprivileged neighborhoods across the county. Campers from the San Fernando Valley will participate in the program later this month.

The academy is funded in part by a $200,000 grant from the Department of Recreation and Parks, and by such sponsors as the Manny Mota Foundation and Coca-Cola.

The campers, who are bused in daily to the Lake View Terrace facility, will receive a uniform, as well as an invitation to a minor or major league baseball game and a skills evaluation at the end of the week.