updates

Here are the stories I am looking to illustrate:

kid's perspective:

1. I had always loved watching baseball on TV but never felt I was the best athlete, so was worried if I would make the team. The best part at UP! is everyone makes a team. We all workout together at the beginning of each practice. Our workouts are very hard but when I see everyone else working just as hard as I am, I know I can't give up. The best part is now I can throw the ball all the way from center field to home plate. I never could do that before I joined UP! My coaches are always giving me more tips on how to get better at all parts of the game. My batting keeps getting better, just last week I had a triple and two other runners scored on that play. They rotate us playing all the different positions and I think my favorite is playing at first base. Our coaches are so nice and encouraging. They always talk to us about getting good grades in school and I have actually done better in school since I never want to let my coaches down and we need to show them our report card each each quarter. My mom tells me how excited she is to see how happy I am not only at baseball practice but also at school. UP! has made me feel very good about myself.

2. My mom signed me up for this camp and now I couldn’t be happier. How it works is that Monday and Wednesday I am part of a baseball team. Me and the other kids start out with stretches and warming up. I don’t like this part that much but the coach says we will not have injuries. At first we practiced a lot of fielding drills but we weren’t even touching a baseball, just moving back and fourth pretending to catch the ball as if a player was batting. That part was annoying. The hardest part for me is staying low to the ground. It hurts my legs but my coaches tell me that I must stay through the ball and keep my momentum to finish my throw. It really teaches me to focus and pay attention, I have to try extra hard. Sometimes he raises his voice at others but I don’t want that to happen to me and get called out in front of everyone. That would just make me more embarrassed.

Now I can focus more in class just like what I do in baseball practice. Even though my coach is more personable than my teacher, I can just pretend that my teacher is my coach and trying to help me with my homework assignments.

3. I saw a flyer posted at school about a baseball organization. It sounded fun but I never played baseball before. My cousin told me when he grows up he wants to be like Derek Jeter, I have been to one of my cousin’s games before. He played really well and almost scored a home run. My cousin’s 4 years older than me and I want to be just like him, so I should learn how to play baseball too. I really want my cousin, Drew, to practice with me. I don’t want to come to practice having no experience since everyone would blow me away. I decided to ask my neighbor if he wanted to join me, at least I would know somebody. Things were going ok and I was improving. I was starting to hit fly balls and I could run faster from base to base. Three weeks into practicing, my neighbor told me his family was moving to Indiana. I couldn’t believe it. My only good friend was moving and I still had to go to practice. I begged my Mom for me to quit but she said I couldn’t she didn’t want me to quit. Looking back I am glad I didn’t quit because I would have missed out on different things. Now I can hit doubles and triples, I didn't know I could do that.

The highlight during my current baseball season was when we took a field trip to see the Milwaukee Brewers play. Since our coach had special connections we were able to meet first baseman Prince Fielder. After the game we talked to us and motivated us to never give up and also encouraged us to do well in school since you need to do well in both sports and school to be a success. He said during the off season he will come and visit us during one of your practices and give each of us more tips. I can't wait for that day to come. I’m able to meet my role model.

parent's perspective:

4. I always wanted my son to find his niche in life. Growing up I always loved cooking with my mom and we bonded as I eagerly became her pastry assistant. I was eager for my son to find his passion in life. In my daily mail, I saw a flyer about a baseball group. My son, Mike is full of energy so I thought, “let’s put it to good use!” I wish I could spend more time with him but since I spend long hours as a chef in a restaurant I want to make sure when he isn't in school he is doing something he loves and is healthy too. Being in this program will give him a chance to meet other kids and channel his energy. I love picking him up at the end of his practices and hearing his play by play of all that took place during their practice. The part I love is how these coaches have instilled so many good values--setting goals, playing by the rules, taking ownership of your actions, being responsible and disciplined. Being a single mom has been so difficult for me, but now that my son has these tremendous male role models in his life, I feel UP! has been a huge blessing. The coaches and guest speakers are tremendous. Mike can't wait for his next practice and the best part is he now thinks more off the field too, such as his quality of homework has improved, he has never been late with an assignment and recently a neighbor asks if he would weekly mow their lawn, Now Mike thinks, What would Coach Jim suggest? My son has matured so much in such a short time and Mike now feels he has found his passion!

5.My son, Jake brought home a flyer, talking about a baseball organization. He seemed so excited but I was worried. My chief concern was if Jake added baseball to his world would this cause a distraction to his schoolwork. We did go together to the informational meeting; I knew I couldn't let Jake down before the program even started. I just knew I needed to be open minded and hear all UP! had to offer. I was totally impressed with what I heard that evening, and now looking back on how the past two years have gone, I am so grateful I listened to Jake. Each coach and counselor has been such a strong positive role model in Jake's life. As a result, Jake has learned to be more accepting of others and quickly notices others' strengths. Jake finds making friends with others so much easier. He amazes me the way he interacts with everyone now. He has learn from his mistakes too. Once Jake collided with a teammate during an important final inning and Jake realized he made an error on that play and he learned from that mistake and hasn't made another error since. The best part is Jake has developed better focus since being on the baseball team which he has easily transferred to the classroom. He is now more engaged in school and always wants to get good grades. He loves showing his report card now, not only to me but to his coaches. He is a happy boy now!

counselor's perspective:

6.I have had an extensive background in family counseling and also played high school baseball several years ago, thus being part of UP! has been a perfect environment for me to combined my two loves. The reason I have enjoyed becoming a regular advisor at UP! is I now see these boys' personalities in action during their games and practices and watching them helps me when we meet off the field, discussing diversity, teamwork and just getting to know each other as individuals. We work in a group setting and individual so by now everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and concern and they soon realize if they encounter any problems they learn the tools they can use to reach solutions. I find this experience personally rewarding for me. The boys are dealing with their world completely differently now as they think of others, not just themselves. Our goal is to learn how to make our world better.

7. Being stuck behind a desk all day made me long for the days back on the baseball field. Baseball was my life from age 8 to 22 so I found it hard to adjust to corporate America. When I found out that UP! was seeking coaches, I soon realized my adult dream could come true...I can be out on the field as an adult. I will always loved baseball, but being a meaningful role model to these eager young guys is very rewarding. I feel I am able to not only share my love of the sport but also can educate them on life long skills too. They love learning, they want to get better and the coolest part is they learned to respect each other as individuals, no matter their upbringing. They are learning about their differences and at the same time realize they are a team. Seeing their smiling faces each day makes me realize I love my job!

Here are some of the updates of the logo, separating the letters u and p.