(upbeat bright music) (dramatic music) - Hello everyone.

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary and welcome to this edition of "Connecting The Community."

Baseball, practice, perseverance and education.

Folks there are many Pensacola h who have embraced education while climbing the ladder of success in the sports realm.

Former major league baseball pla Adron Chambers, is one of them we'll explore his illustrious ca including his nonprofit Swing Ch Then we'll delve into the many f of the Southern Youth Sports Ass a nonprofit that's committed to the full potential of each child from both sports related and academic perspectives.

And to wrap things up we'll bring out the inner child in all of you as we welcome Dribbles, the all-knowing cat.

The educational creation of a trail-blazing Pensacola State College student.

But first, I'm honored to welcom a dear friend, Steve Nissim.

He's the chief storyteller for Studer Community Institute, but here's the interesting facto Many of you may know him from his 28 illustrious award winning years as a sportscaster at WEAR TV.

We - Thank you very much, Rameca.

Pleasure to be here.

- Glad to have you join me.

So let's introduce our guests.

We have Adron Chambers, former Major League baseball player.

He's joined by Louis Moton with Attack Baseball, but there are many interesting correlations between your lives.

You're like brothers and we'll get into that a little bit later, but Adron first let's start with As a young child, you really emb first tee-ball then baseball.

But one thing I admire about you, you're so humble.

And even in those pictures that I've seen of you playing tee-ball with the team, you have that magnifying smile so much energy.

Let's talk about that.

- I actually have a story behind that smile too.

I'll tell you about that later, but thank you first, for having me on the show.

- [Rameca] You're welcome.

- And Steve thank you so much, m Yeah, man.

My story, when it comes to sports.

I had a big family, first of all, my mom had eight kids.

I have three brothers, four sist and we all played sports.

My brothers really taught me the in the backyard with a stick and a tennis ball.

Sometimes we made our own baseba by wrapping some tape together, but sports has always been in my my grandfather, he was a FAMU, a crazy fan for FAMU.

And again, my brother, he was a Florida fan.

So just growing up, I always kne that I was gonna be involved in sports in some way.

When it came to baseball, I guess my mom didn't want me to play football 'cause she thought I was too sma So it was a little bit easier decision for me when it came to that, but it was always something that I enjoyed.

My uncle was the president of our ballpark at Warrenton.

Our ballpark when we were there and everybody, my sister played, my brother pla It was just something that we did every day.

- Of course you went on to play at Pensacola High.

Baseball and football and back t you were known much more as a football player.

Great quarterback, great wide re Ended up signing to the SEC to Mississippi State.

At that point, how much did you that football was really gonna be your path?

- Well, to be honest with you, I thought football was everythin I didn't even, too much, care about baseball.

Actually Coach Belich a lot of guys may know that name right there, or Linwood Belich, I should say, he actually came up to me when I was in high school.

I used to play out in Pace all t He used to say, "Adron, drop football, play baseball."

But it's a crazy story, my mom was actually at the baseb and Mike Hall, who has just pass One of my favorite coaches in th he actually came up to my mother "That kid needs to play football You know, I was running around shaking everybody, making them look crazy when I wa So she actually decided to let m And once I started playing footb it was like my first love.

Baseball was something that I really enjoyed, but football, I guess because it has so many teammates and boys can be boys.

We wrestled and played with each other every day.

We spent the night at each other So football was really that spor that I really thought was gonna wherever I wanted to go.

- Well it took you to Mississipp State do you want the SEC?

But things ended up not working You ended up coming back home, at that point, how tough was that to deal with?

How devastating and how'd you try to get through that?

- Yeah, man, it was real tough.

That was something that not only but my whole family had to deal especially being from a city like Pensacola, where you have the City of Champ the Roy Jones, the Emmitt Smith, the Fred Robbins.

So that was something that I was able to handle with m 'Cause like I said, we all had to deal with that situation, because football was something that I really wanted to do.

So that transition was tough, but at the same time Doug Martin and Bill Hamilton, they came to my house and was li "Look, we know that you can play "We've known you for playing bas "You want to give it another try And I said, yeah.

Really the first school to really offer me another chance or give me a chance to come play Everybody else wanted me to play So being able to come back home and do that, I think that helped a whole lot.

Me being able to be around my fa and having some familiar faces being in the stands too.

- You mentioned Doug Martin and Bill Hamilton then at PJC now Pensacola State.

So you end up coming to play at What was the transition like to come back and play baseball a - Well, to be honest with you, people like to say that, don't get me wrong.

It's the baseball guys can play other sports, but they say football, is hard to transition from other sports to play baseba But it was different for me because I had that football ment Working out two times a day and having to get big, I was only 185 pounds.

So when I got to Mississippi Sta I had to gain some weight.

So coming back it's like I had to lose that weight, because I was pulling hamstrings and you know, having to get in baseball shape as we call it.

And having that distinction between the sports, man, it's like a complete difference, football and baseball.

So from the physical side of it, it was challenging most definite But again, I had so much support My teammates were great.

Whenever I got outta line, they was able to kind of pull me 'cause I really missed football.

But I like to believe that in ba baseball is a thinking mans spor A thinking persons sport.

So I was able to be around a lot that knew how to handle the mental aspect of the game and being around Doug or Martin, Coach Martin and Coach Hamilton, they really knew the game.

So they were able to really give me what I needed to kind of excel in the sport to - And after that, '07 season, you kind of on a whim at the end of the season, you took a bus ride at the last minute to go up to M for a St. Louis Cardinal's try o Just tell that story of how you made that decision and how it worked out.

- And I was late for that try ou Actually, I was in the bating ca So St. Louis were there, they'd come look at a guy by the name of D'Marcus Ingram, who was my roommate.

So they had a draft and follow w I was in the cages and the scout that came to come look at him, seen me in the cages hitting.

And I was doing this crazy drill He was like, "What are you doing over there?"

So, I told him and he kinda liked my answer behind it.

So he said, "Hey, why don't you come to Memphis, Tennessee "for a try out?"

I said, "All right.

If I can get (Steve and Rameca laughing) I had no money, you know, I was in college.

So I finally got the money to be able to go And I took a bus all the way down to Naples, Florida.

I'm in Florida, now, I'm still trying to think about why did I go to Naples to come back up to Memphis, Tenn It took me 24 hours to make that So I was late getting into Memph They were almost done with the t I had my bag in my hand, I ran on the field.

I told them the scout that was at Pensacola Junior College at the time said, you know, he was still there.

He said, let him run a 60.

So I ran a 60.

They gave me thre I think I hit two line drives and hit a home run.

And they took me to the top and "Adron, we gonna give you $50,000 and take it or leave it.

"What you gonna do?"

And at that time, you know, baseball was really something that I was starting back to enjo So it was a great, I think, great decision on my behalf, because it turned out to be some moments that I'll never for - And you ended up getting draft by the Cardinals later that year - Right and Steve, these are the types of back stories that the average viewer doesn't Now, Louis there are so many parallels with your life in relation to Adron Chambers.

You grew up loving baseball, playing baseball.

You also played football, just l You even tried out for the Diamondbacks and the Braves.

Why don't you talk about that?

- Yeah, right outta high school, I tried out for the Braves at my local ballpark, my high school that I played at, They told me, "Hey, you're good.

"We want you to go to college to see how you develop."

So I said, "Okay, let's go try the Diamondbacks."

One of my buddies called me and "Hey, the Diamondbacks have a tr "right up the street, Let's go give it a shot."

I showed up there.

And I feel like it's one of thos that wasn't meant to be for me.

Because I wasn't pushed the way I felt like I should've been pushed toward playing baseball.

More often, I was split with foo - [Rameca] Decisions.

- 50/50 and I was undersized for So I should have been pushed more to baseball.

- But then you played club baseb at Georgia Southern University, but there was something that hap You quite didn't reach your goal and you needed a game changer.

What happened?

- I had to take an evaluation of where I was in my life and I decided to move to Virgini And I moved with my dad in Virgi He was living there in Woodbridge, Virginia.

I read this book when I arrived well, on the way there, it start and it didn't stop snowing for 14 days straight.

So I said, okay, this is a stran I'm from the south.

Never seen snow before, but I go I was sitting in the house, read this book, a lady gave me in Atlanta, it's called "Open Your Mind to Prosperity."

It talked about getting rid of things that you don't need, to make room for things that you And it kinda created a vacuum fo So at that point in my life is when I felt the shift take pl and kind of regained focus.

And kind of brought me here, aft - Speaking of shifts, you actually met Adron.

Actually what you you did is you sort of looked him up and had an interesting dream in relation to Adron.

I don't know if you know about t but why don't you tell us Louis?

- I never told him.

So I work at Navy Federal and a buddy of mine told me that he went to high school with Adron, so I looked him up on Facebook, followed him, and before we officially met.

One night I had a dream and it s I need to reach out to this man, Adron Chambers.

And I said, you know, I've never met this guy.

And then that day he posted, I am in the city and I am looking for youth baseball players.

And I have a son that plays youth baseball.

So that's when I went to meet hi - All right.

So Steve, now I kno you want to pick up with the min - I did not know that about you.

- Getting back up with you, Adron, we talked about, you got drafted by the Cardinals It was a late draft pick though, 38th round.

But you moved up the minors very Four years later, you were in the major leagues.

So why do you feel like you move and maybe really passed up guys that were drafted ahead of - To be honest with you, man, sometimes, I don't know.

When it comes to the idea that baseball, I mean, I've seen cats have four for fou with four home runs and get cut the next day.

So I don't think it was typicall always about the skill level.

I think it was about how guys were progressing.

The knowledge when it came to th Being around a guy like Tony La Tony, really, he didn't care about your size.

He didn't care about how many ho you hit all the time.

He wanted to know how smart you So when it comes to me being able to move up and go through the Cardinals org which is the greatest organization I've ever played fo The Cardinal way.

It really, I think it was becaus I really took heed of the idea of learning and studying and really engaging because they didn't have a lot of guys stealing bases, which I was a fast runner.

They didn't have a lot of guys d a lot of the things that you see from other teams.

It was really like a team orient kind of way of playing baseball and I was all about that.

Even playing with my youth teams, with Coach Mike and so many other coaches I play it was always about team.

So I grew up, kind of like what the St. Louis Cardinals was all about.

So I think that was part of the of them being able to move me.

'Cause I didn't have the greates My first season I hit like 238 or something like that.

Which is a terrible average and not to say that from nobody that's hitting 238.

Like keep balling.

- [Rameca] No disrespect.

- Right.

Keep balling.

But yeah, man, it was really I t the idea that I was first every I was last leaving the locker ro I always hustled down the line.

It was things like that they see - They obviously saw something i 'cause 2011, they call you up late in the season.

They're in a pennant chase.

- [Adron] That's right.

- And you contribute to them making the playoffs.

You had a famous triple that we talked about, that helped win a ball game down the stretch.

And in the playoffs you contributed as well.

Cardinal's go on to win the Worl So what was it like going through that experience?

To come up like that come up fas and then win a World Series?

- I tell you, man, every time I have to tell this story, it's almost something new that comes up in my head.

I remember Mark McGuire coming u when I first entered the locker And he said, "Adron," you know, you looking for somebody to shake your hand and congratulate you and all this, give you a hug.

He said, "Create a plan, right n "If you want to be here, create And from that moment on, this is the first day I got, this is before I even got to the locker room.

He said, you know, that kind of put it in my head that it wasn't just about being It was about what are you going to contribute to this team?

And because of that, man, it was like that's what I was al I was really on that path of whatever I can do.

We were 12 games out, nobody thought about us going to the playoffs, but I was the one running up and down the locker room saying, fellas, we gonna win thi They look at me like, "Boy, shut up, sit down."

You know what I mean?

Like what are you doing?

But I always had that type of en I think that's, first of all, you have to have that type energy to be a champion to me.

But it was something that we nee And I seen that, I found my piece of the puzzle.

I knew I wasn't that guy that was gonna go hit four home runs every day, because I wasn't playing every d but I could contribute in differ So whether that was being on tim being out the way of the older guys or in bating practice, running everything down, I kind of think that, and I know because Tony La Russa brought me into his office one day and was like, "Don't stop.

"Whatever you're doing, don't st So, yeah, man, it was a phenomenal, phenomenal moment in my life.

And obviously these are moments that I'll never forget.

- And on that note, Louis hearing what Adron has said, the impacting difference in a fe that knowing all this and seeing his journey, what impact has that had on your - Oh, tremendous impact.

It's helped me as a coach.

It's helped me develop my player He's brought to me a professiona What they do at practices, how hard they train at practices, the drills that they go through.

So I've added that into my daily and I've seen an exponential growth with my team.

So it's been a great impact on my life, for sure.

- All right, stay right there.

Don't go anywhere.

So folks, Steve and I are just getting started.

We'll be back with much more, right after this.

(upbeat music) Hello, everyone.

During this segment, we're continuing our discussion with Adron Chambers and Louis Mo We're happy to welcome am Daphne and her son Makai Patterson to t They're excited about Adron's involvement in the community, including his nonprofit Swing Ch Now we'll get to all that in just a moment, but Steve, I know you want to delve into Adron's progression.

So why don't you lead on?

- Yeah, we left off we were talk winning World Series Championshi as a rookie there in 2011.

You ended up playing parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues, all with the Cardinals.

Played in the postseason all yea So they all called you up.

They knew you were money.

So they called you up at that time of the year.

- [Adron] I actually believe so - After that, you switched to some different organizations, never it back to the Majors thou but you were in AAA for several and for people watching it, you were putting up good numbers It's so, why is he not going back to the majors at that point?

So did you have some frustration Did you feel like, "Hey, I did all I could."

And do you have some peace with your career?

- I have to say it was a little frustration obviously, but it was so many great athlete I played with George Springer, Shoot, the list goes on, Oscar Taveras, God rest his soul I've been around so many great a That I still had to, even though with the numbers, like I said, I went through injuries and things like that.

And those are also things that can kind of hold you back, they don't wanna risk you getting hurt in the Major Le but at this same time that whole experience for me was unbelievable.

Being able to go be with the Cub Wrigley Field is my favorite place to play.

The Phillies, the Blue Jays, which is in Canada and I love Canada.

We'll talk about my daughter lat but just being able to have those experiences, are things that I remember the m Obviously, I would love to be in the Major Leagues right now.

Well we ain't playing right now.

I don't know what's going on.

But yeah, it's just, it's amazin to even be a part of Major League Baseball.

- And you brought some special memorabilia.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

So the bat, actually I've been, the past two, three years I've been able to go back to what they call fantasy camp, where people that really enjoy the Cardinals, fans of the Cardinals, they come and it's about a 100, 150 of the And we have Ozzie Smith come back and Whitey Herzog.

So many great Cardinals come bac and we all play each other.

So you see a 80 year old man running down the line.

Which is phenomenal.

But this year is our 2011 is whe so 2021 is our 10 year anniversa So we were able to go back to St and they did this very nice para and reception and just a beautiful experience.

And I was able to see my ex-team So all of my teammates who were on that 2011 team were able to sign that bat.

David Freese, Albert Pujols, Edwin Jackson, the list goes on.

And then I had my baseball, which I didn't even know they gave out baseballs for RBIs in the postseason, but I guess they seen something that I didn't see, but it was just a nice gesture that they made for me.

And then the plaque, which was given to us by Mr. Dewitt, who was the owner of the Cardina He gave all of us a plaque to just help remember that 2011 And that's something that I really appreciate because it's certain things, just like this World Series ring that nobody else has.

- [Rameca] Hold that up.

Hold th - Oh yeah.

I'll hold it up for y if y'all wanna see.

But it's just things like this that I'll never forget.

And then it's something that we can say we have.

So many people were able to enjoy that 2011 season.

I mean, it's a hundred year old woman that I met.

That's been a Cardinal for all h And she gives me so many memorie But for us, the actual team, we able to really, have things like this to help remind us how special that year was.

- All right.

So now let's shift on over to your nonprofit.

You're back in Pensacola, Swing Love that name.

- [Adron] Thank you.

- What is it all about and what is the vision.

- Right?

Well, it's crazy because hearing Lou, Coach Lou, as we call him, hearing his story really kind of reminded me of why I started it.

I started Swing Champ in 2016, in 13, I'm sorry.

And it was all about, you know, it's tough to make it to the Major Leagues.

Sometimes, I think a lot of kids, we get into that idea of, we get introduced at a young age and it's almost all we get in introduced to is sports.

Whether it's football, basketball or baseball, and a lot of these kids they don't have the skills necessarily to play those sports And sometimes the parents want them to play.

It's not a passion.

I really had a passion for playi whether it's football or basebal So I started this program, listening to Lou, for men and young girls and wome for that reason of maybe I need what else am I good at?

What else do I want to do?

I mean, baseball might not be fo And that's where "We Connect.

Reconnect."

came about too.

But Swing Champ obviously is all about baseball, but it's also to use baseball as a tool to help people get reminded, there's other avenues that you can go.

Singers, writers, poets.

I mean, so many of my athletes have gone on to school to do things other than baseball So that's why I started Swing Ch - Well, I've seen some of the tr the agility work with the ropes and obstacle courses, even a little bit of meditation - [Adron] That's right.

That's r - [Rameca] This isn't peanut butter and jelly, patty cake kind of take a five minute break This is intense.

- [Adron] No doubt.

It's very in and that aspect, especially later on in my career, I started realizing how, if I were to have implemented some of those things later in my career, like meditat like having a great diet or being reminded, that it's bea that you see sports now, even though they've been doing it over the years, but really emphasizing that idea of having that healthy lifestyle or mental aspect of the game and being able to be with Coach right here, I really brought the idea with h The parents would be over there in the stands and they'll be looking at saying "Why they ain't practicing?

"Why everybody laying on the ground with their eyes closed?"

and we would be meditating.

But I just seen how, and I have a great friend of mine, Jake Wood, who was the first bla to go through the Detroit Tigers organization.

I remember he would make me, whenever I came to his house, he loved to cook fish.

So we'd always go to the house and eat fish.

And Willie Horton too, would be but we would sit down and he wou "Adron, you gotta meditate for a And I would look at him, I'm lik I'm not gonna sit down for no hour and meditate.

What is you talking about?

But, after going to his house and having to do it, I started seeing the benefit of and a good friend of mine, John Meeslak, he also was a great example of meditation.

We would wake up at 5:30 in the and go do a yoga class.

And it was something that I was but after doing it a few times, I really started seeing the bene And yeah, so we added that to Swing Champion.

The workouts and so many other t just to give the kids something to help them, get better at what they're tryin - You're also coaching on the high school level back in your old stomping ground Pensacola high, with Michael Smith taken over there as well.

- [Adron] No doubt.

- What's the challenge there?

Because it's a program that's be So what's the challenge with trying to revive a program like baseball at PHS?

- Well, that's the amazing part, because when I was going to scho even though we didn't win every you never had to worry about kids coming out to play.

We always had a freshman JV vars This year we only have 12 athlet and being able, and that's a cha as you would know, Steve is we need a pitching rotation.

We need guys that might get hurt If two guys get hurt, we can't even play sometime.

So it is a big challenge, but ag it goes back to the idea of introducing the game in a way that makes kids want to come play.

When we do meditation, when we do these agility drills, it gives them something to be like, you know what?

Baseball can be boring to some p but by doing these other things, it kind of introduces a new kind of technique to learning the game and that's what I'm trying to do.

I'm really focused on the idea of what can we do to bring more kids to play.

Instead of being mad about the i that we only have 12, which it h Don't get me wrong.

Before I got here, we was getting our butts beat, (Steve and Rameca laughing) but it is just the amazement of, they're out there and we want to be the best coaches and give them the best experienc And that's also something that I'm gonna have to learn too, about being a coach.

We are not just guys that are te you what to do on the field.

We have to be fathers.

We have to be uncles.

We have to be brothers.

And that's something that I thin needs to be talked about when it comes to baseball.

Baseball has a lot more to offer than just making it to the Major - And Louis.

I know that you have a very close relationship with Attack Baseball, working collaboratively with Adron, but you talked about growing up and children, Adron.

So I must shift over here to Daphne and Makai.

You're looking so handsome, litt So you are a product of what Adron is doing and what Louis, both of them are How does it make you feel knowing that you're learning spo and you're striving to really excel in school?

Is it a good feeling?

- Yes.

- What else?

I mean, anything in particular about coach that you really like - I like that he came today and that he coaches me.

- And how much practice do you put in every single week?

Is it hours?

- [Makai] About until 11.

- Oh, okay.

So mom, how do you feel about that, Daphne?

- [Daphne] It feels great.

- Good stuff.

- It feels great.

He's been wanting to play baseball since the age of four.

So he actually did tee-ball.

- [Rameca] All righty.

- And a lot of times kids but more so the parents get caught up in the stats at a but really that's not important.

It's the development at that age You what's so key about the deve - That's what's going on with Makai right here.

When I first got Makai, the challenge was just being able to focus in on the game, because it takes a lot of focus.

If you would've seen him last we he was hitting line drives over with his daddy's ahead.

It was amazing, being able to se but the ability, like I said, it's using those different techn Makai's very smart.

Some days we'll just practice, he'll just sit there and we'll go over things that he's learned in school, and it's like, Makai, we just spent 15 minutes, man, talking about something other than baseball, but that's just he wanted to be at the field.

And that was the beautiful thing He always first one there.

She's always on time with him.

And it's kind of nice to see that a kid wants to be on the field and playing baseball like that, at his age, because that attention to detail type thing, they don't really focus on that.

A lot of times, when it comes to But I enjoy the Makai.

Makai's learning so much and I really believe that even if he wanna do anything in the world, other than baseball, he's gonna excel in it.

But right now, seeing him develop in the game right now is very pleasing.

And I know he's smiling over there right now.

- [Daphne] He sure is.

- He's a good kid, man.

He's a very good kid.

- Louis, do you have a few final because I know you work so closely with the Adron.

- You know, just like you spoke to the kids, I would say, tell those kids to stay focused, work hard.

Persevere, life is not always ea but it's important to stay focused and keep going.

- That's what we do.

Many thanks to all of you for being in this segment.

Also my special co-host and friend, Steve Nissim.

I think we'll be seeing more of him in the future.

Now, folks, as we head to break, get ready for a few more surpris You'll see Adron Chambers wearing yet another hat, right after this.

(upbeat music) We're back.

Sports and education, what a wonderful combination.

During this segment, we'll explore the Southern Youth Sports Association.

A program administered by local leaders in our community for the benefit of youth.

It's a multifaceted, nonprofit organization, that provides a variety of servi To discuss this further.

I'm happy to introduce Lumon May Co-founder and Board Member.

He's joined by a familiar face, former baseball league player, Adron Chambers.

Who's worked closely with this i Welcome to both of you.

- [Lumon] Thank you.

- So Lumon, Southern Youth Sports Association, when did it start?

- It actually incorporated in ab and the origins was long before Probably about 30 years ago that a group of us were working in a community center.

A national community center where we met great people like A In 2004, 2005 we decided to take a grassroot initiative, to be able to be closer to the p without having the national affi - Well, the crux is youth.

We understand that.

And where exactly is it located?

- It's located in the heart of West Pensacola, on Gregory Street, 1300 West Gre It's located at the Theophalis May Community Center, known as Legion Field.

It's the historic Legion Field that has a significant amount of Where babe Ruth played and where many professional baseball players played.

And we have a monument there that honors George Marvray, who was one of the first Negro professional baseball play It's where Seagulls and many of the old Negro League players played a during segregation.

And so when you had people come, you know, Babe Ruth played, as I said, in that field.

And so many of the celebrities who would come through on the ci played down at Legion Field.

So it has a tremendous amount of and being a crucial part of the sports history of Escambi - All right.

We'll get to more in just a moment, but Adron, how long have you and Lumon known each other?

And also just tell us about the in which you have worked with hi - Well, I've been knowing Coach as we like to call him, for a lo - I appreciate that, 'cause I am (all laughing) - For a long time, you know, after playing against him, when I was at Myrtle Grove and then actually coming over to, play baseball over there at Salvation Army at the time when he was saying it was, it's been some years, but, and it's interesting because I'm listening to Coach and I'm hearing all of this hist and I think that's what I apprec about when I came over to Salvat Salvation Army at the time.

It was the idea that we had phenomenal athletes, Alice Gordon and the name goes on, superstars.

So many great athletes been coming through there, but it's the history like what he just said about Bab and Legion Field and that's also why I wanted to come back and do what I'm doing in the com is because of people like Coach and obviously his team that he has too to coach.

Pat Wray and so many other guys that's been over there.

So yeah, man, I've been knowing coach a very long time and I've always supported him.

And I appreciate him for even having me on the show.

- And you always will.

So many close ties or correlations.

Let's talk about the interesting aspects of SYSA.

Now we're not only talking one s we're talking additional things.

We have basketball, cheerleading, baseball, football, tutorial programs.

People can even earn a GED.

Let me just tell you, I'm astoundingly happy to hear a It's amazing.

- Well, I mean what we have is an awesome amount of voluntee and as Adron just spoke about the great volunteers of Raymond Palmer and Bobby Watkins and Terrell Hankins and Brian Stallworth.

I mean, it's the great thing of our program.

Most of our coaches are people who came through the program, who have been with the program 25 or 30 plus years.

And so we believe that we utilize recreation and athletics as a vehicle of li for many of our most vulnerable and which are our children.

And so we just utilize sports as a vehicle to get children in.

And our program is based on the and it's based on the Bible, the the Ball and the Balance.

And so we don't subscribe to telling any child that they have to go to any denomination or any church, but we think that you should have an ethical and a moral responsibility to do the right thing.

And so our program is based on b because we've come this far by faith in our program.

And so that's why we put the Bib and second will be the academics And so we know that if you go to high school, that if you don't have a certain well you won't be able to partic and be able to play in a World Series like Adron.

- [Rameca] That's right, like Ad - I mean, you won't be a student So we wanna produce student athl So to be in our program, that's why we track and we do data collection on rep and progress reports, because we want you to have the and to be properly educated.

And that's not always just acade but we believe in workforce and we believe in meeting childr where they are to transform in t into being valuable citizens.

And the third B, would be the Ba and that's the vehicle.

And so when we looked at our pro we saw so many tutoring programs and so many well intentioned pro of wanting to help inner city ch they would open the doors and they'd have tons of volunteers and children would never show.

So we know that sports are really the reason that they and we make no apology for utilizing that as our carrot and as our tool for recruitment.

And so we don't market really, we don't advertise, we don't run billboards and flye It's really word of mouth.

- [Rameca] Word of mouth.

- And we have 800 plus children because they want to come and because they want to come.

Then we can instill the Bible, the Books in them.

And the final B is the Balance.

And so as Adron has the balance, being a professional athlete, being a father, being a community activist, being a leader, being an entrepreneur.

We know that the mental stress that happens within our communit that causes drug addiction, alco and all those things.

It's because sometimes people can't balance all of the things that are trust So at an early age, we want to t how do you get your grades?

How do you do your chores?

How do you listen to your parent How are you involved in your com How are you focusing on your tra Which is a sport and getting the And that's the balance.

And so we believe in order to provide for a well rounded, wholesome individual, that you have a have a life of b And so that's the four Bs and that's really the premise of our youth development and delinquency prevention program.

It's not a sports program, but it's a youth development pro That we utilize sports to reach of providing for opportunity for positive children to be grea - Yes.

This is speaking of youth ages four to 17.

Adron, I know you are a mover, a motivator.

So the motivation that you have I know it spills on over doesn't - No doubt, it's amazing.

You know, it just really is a reminder of why SYSA, Salvation Army, has thrived for so long Coach.

- You can't use Salvation Army we gotta say SYSA.

- Oh it's SYSA, I'm sorry.

I'm gonna say, it's SYSA, only because it's just a reminde 'cause I've seen so many great a come through your program.

It's been, it's been phenomenal, but it's the same thing.

Being able to see you do it and Coach Mike Hall and so many other great coaches that I've had.

- [Lumon] Who lost his life, in an accident, yeah.

- Exactly.

You know what I mean?

So being able to have all these kind of show me the ropes is the exact reason why I do what I do, because sports is a vehicle.

Whether you wanna believe it or balance, when you talk about bal you gotta have balance in sports If you don't have balance in bas you ain't gonna be able to play basketball.

And at the same time, like you s with the books, the ideas of the listen, you gotta know the game.

You understand?

You gotta under stand what play is going on, what defense they're in.

In baseball, you gotta know what what situation, guy on second ba And just being able to hear you talk about, and faith, just being able to hear you talk about, how you've structured your organ and how you've been able to thri It's just, it's the same thing about what I'm doing, it exact same thing.

And it's just amazing being able to hear you from this aspect of it because I'm also trying to do the same thing, so I appreciate you.

- [Lumon] You're doing it, man.

- [Rameca] He is.

- Exactly, I appreciate it.

- [Lumon] We appreciate it.

- Let's talk about some blessing Blessings come in all shapes forms and fashions.

So we have Troy Rafferty, Senior with Levin Papantonio Rafferty.

A million dollars.

- Wow.

- What did you do when you found out that he and his family were making that donation?

- Well, you know, it was a generous offer by Ashley and Tro who are great friends of mine and we've been 30 year friends, his wife, Ashley worked in the Y She graduated from Washington hi and certainly recognizes the importance of investing in what I call the greatest inve and that's human capital.

And Troy has been a dear friend and a great supporter for many y And one day he said, when we started the Hope Scholarship, he said, "What can I do?"

He said, "What's happening with young inner city, "particularly African-American m I said, "They've lost hope."

And he said, "What can we do to I said, "Give them hope."

And so we established the Troy and Ashley Rafferty Hope Scholarship, that each year we give out $50,0 to young people and we identify time early.

We identify them and say, you kn If you do the right things, you may not be Adron.

You may not be a Alfred Morris.

You may not be Doug Baldwin.

You may not be Lady Coffrin.

You may not be Michelle Snow, but you just may be a hardworking young person from Morris Court to Addis Court And so how do we give him hope and tell him that the streets and the dope is not the way they So we offer him the those schola Terrell Hankins, who Adron knows - [Adron] Amazing, man.

- He's an amazing volunteer, one of the best.

And so when he was in the sixth grade, seventh grade, we gave him a scholarship, working with Morris Marsh at the university and United Way and Sue Strong and Ted Henry and all that.

We gave him a scholarship.

And so now Terrell is probably one of our top volunteers, one of our top board members.

So we know that it works.

And so after the scholarship, Troy and Ashley said we wanted t And they decided to- - The Rafferty Center.

- To do the Rafferty Center.

We need, actually we're busting at the seams.

We have 800 plus kids.

We don't have enough time for pr And so we were very fortunate in a partnership with the city to create that the Theophalis Ma in honor of my dad and Troy decided to make an expansion.

And so- - [Rameca] Wonderful news.

- He made a donation of a millio and you know and that was exciti Equally exciting is Doug Baldwin who started in our program when was four years old.

Who we will be naming the gym after his grandfather, but he made a significant contribution as well, in terms of 1/2 a million dollar So we've had a lot of people that have come forward.

And so we're about $300,000 shor So we're gonna continue to work.

But as we say, we walk by faith and not by sight.

And we know that we're gonna get those other dollars.

- [Rameca] Yes.

And you're gonna - And we're gonna be successful.

We had other donors, Shirley Crowley, the state legislator.

And so we know that other people are gonna come forward and we're gonna build this Rafferty Center of Hope for our children.

- Exactly.

And we definitely have that website information up for our viewers as well.

Many thanks to both of you for joining me in this segment.

So folks as we head to break, if you have little ones, tell them to gather around the television set, we're going to introduce them to a delightful new friend right after this.

(upbeat music) Hello, everyone.

During this segment, we're taking education to another leve with Pensacola State College stu and trailblazer, Troy Watts.

He's the brainchild behind Dribbles, the all-knowing cat, And Friends, within a span of on he's made an impacting differenc in the realm of early childhood To get the conversation started.

I'm happy to welcome the innovative Troy Watts, Vice President of KNO3 Innovativ He's joined by Daniel Baker an early childhood educator who serves as an educational con In addition, we also have the lovely mother/daughter duo, Kelsey Lewis and Kylie Trotter.

It's a pleasure to have all of y And guess what?

I have some people that are joining me on the anchor desk.

We have Dribbles and his friends Ricky, Nicky, and Blicky.

So Troy, the trailblazer that you are, first of all, tell us about the inspiration for Dribbles and Friends.

Who gave you the idea?

- The idea was actually brought up by myself because I am very passionate, very, very passionate for childr So I came up with the idea because I like to see children l And I knew there had to be a way to teach them learning because there's not enough conte So I just thought about it.

Maybe it cat.

People are more familiarized with cats.

So I figured I just put together a cat.

So I drew a cat.

- And the rest is history, but I will tell you this, you have such an innovative mind You're such a great storyteller.

And I know that you have forged a relationship with Studer Community Institute along the lines of education, and to show our viewers what I'm talking about.

Let's roll this clip.

- Hi guys.

I'm Dribbles the all-knowing cat.

Today, do you know what we're go Ooh, I'll give you a hint.

It's about early childhood educa Oops, the cat's outta the bag.

Let's go meet our friends that can teach us a little more about that.

Come on.

- Everything I like?

- Don't leave me a dog and ball.

- Hi, Ms. Shannon, Mr. Reggie.

- Hello.

- Hi Dribbles.

How are you?

- I'm good.

Any day with you guys is great.

- Aw, you're so sweet.

You're our favorite cat friend.

- Aw.

Thank you.

Can you guys tell everybody at h a little bit about what you do?

- Oh, we would love to.

So Reggie and I work at the Studer Community Institute and we have the coolest job in the whole world because our job is to build brai Our job is to help every kiddo in our community have a good chance for a great start in life and to be ready to learn when they show up to kindergarten.

- Can you show me how you do the - I sure can.

We tell moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles, how important it is to read and talk and sing and play every From the very beginning of a chi That's important because 85% of is built by the time you're three years old.

- Whoa.

- I know, 90% of it by the time you're five.

You've got to make a really strong foundation for that brain, so that you are ready to learn when it comes time to start scho And that is what Mr. Reggie and I do every day.

We work with parents all over the community to help them understand the power they have to build brains.

Isn't that right?

- That's absolutely right.

- All right.

Now we're going to take you the viewer back a little bit, because Troy has an exceptional at Pensacola State College.

You earned an associate of arts and you are now pursuing a four-year degree right here.

In which concentration?

- Graphic designs.

- Graphic design.

Now a little birdie told me that you introduced Dribbles and to our president, Dr. Ed Meadows, tell us what he did.

- He actually said, I was surpri I went to the mailbox one day and I got a letter from PSC, Pensacola State College.

And it was, to my surprise.

It was actually Dr. Meadows, he sent me a letter, thanking me for the Dribbles Product.

And he wished us very much succe - We are so excited to hear thes because education is essential.

Danielle, I know that you're joi all the way from Canada.

Welcome to Pensacola, Florida.

- Thank you.

- Let's talk about your backgrou from an educational perspective.

- Right.

I am a registered early childhood educator.

I'm also a college professor at one of the local colleges where I am, up in Canada.

So I am teaching the early childhood education program in college as well.

- How did you find out about Dribbles and Friends?

Because I will tell you this guy, right here, works night and day.

I'm curious.

- He does actually, with the wonderful world that we live in right now, we're pretty much open to the wo And because we're both in the education world, we met through social media and I would see Dribble's videos on there and comment.

I got some of the books and I would do story time.

Read the book live on Facebook a - We'll get back to you in just Now, ABCs and one, two, threes.

All right.

I'm shifting over to my mother/daughter duo over here, Kelsey, the proud mom that you a and look at our beautiful Kylie, wearing my favorite color, pink.

Hello.

How are you?

- Good - Now I hear that this book righ "Questions, Questions, Questions is one of your favorite Dribbles and Friends books.

We have a total of four and another one deals with ABCs.

So with that said, I want to ins We're going to show you now a nice little video clip of "Dribbles ABCs," in English and Spanish.

- Hey, everyone let's sing and dance as we please, while we learn the English and Spanish ABCs.

♪ A, B, C, D, E, F, G ♪ ♪ H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P ♪ ♪ Q, R, S, T, U, V ♪ ♪ W, X, Y and Z ♪ ♪ Now I know my ABCs.

♪ ♪ Next time won't you sing with - Now that we sang the English A let's now sing them in Spanish.

(singing in a foreign language) - Freeze.

See ya.

- Bravo.

Now Kelsey, as a mom, bedtime stories are a fan favorite we know.

Aside from this book, are there any other special exce from any of the other books that you like to read to young K - I love the ABCs one because sh just ABCs and the fact that they each theme with each letter with So every time we get to the lett what do you like to say?

Xylophone.

- [Rameca] Xylophone?

- So she loves that favorite par We really love those books.

- So I'm just curious.

Do you play any instruments, Kylie?

You like Xylophone, correct?

Maybe one day, but not now.

Maybe later?

All right.

We'll catch up with you later regarding that.

Okay.

So Troy STEM and STEAM?

Tell us the differentiation and why with Dribbles and Friend these two items are so important - At this point, STEAM started o with just Science Technology, Engineering, Mathematics.

The A was added in later.

Now it's Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematic Right now we're trying to get ou to actually do more in these fie So we can compete with the globa So we all got together and we were saying to ourselves, you know, what can we do?

And add Dribbles to this fight to get and help people with STEA So we wrote a book.

That's how we started off.

We wrote a book, "Dribbles and Friends Save Steam Valley."

That book just came out recently.

It's on Amazon.

- Wonderful, STEM and STEAM.

And that's a good question.

And I'm glad that you clarified Now Danielle, we know that as far lesson plans are concerned and getting into the schools, that is an area of expertise for Can you give us a hint as to what you're working on?

- I am working on a program right now for STEAM with Dribbles and Friends.

And so we're working on that to really get a new perspective on STEAM learning in the schools so that we can stay competitive on the global level, as well, with the other schools across the world.

And so really excited about that Working on these plans to get everybody involved and help teachers with it as wel - I can't wait.

Now, Troy, let's talk about, is there a specific age range for the books and other merchand And speaking of other merchandis we know that we have coloring books, flashcards.

Talk about those for a little bit, if you will.

- Well, we have coloring books.

Everything now is surrounded wit From matching flashcard games to coloring books.

We have each character dressed in different STEAM outfits like scientists, teacher, stuff So that's what we actually did.

We had to create everything arou to make it fantastic and fun for - And speaking of fun.

Okay.

Back to you, Kylie, who likes to count.

How high can you count?

- 230 and 250 - 250?

Well, I tell you what, Kelsey, she's very smart, but guess who else is smart?

Dribbles is smart.

So now Dribbles is going to intr to yet another friend, a little that needs to find his way.

Why don't you take a look?

(upbeat music) - Hi everybody.

I'm Dribbles the all-knowing cat And today we're gonna spend some time in the park with my little ducky friend, Qua (duck quacking) What?

What's that?

Your duck friends are missing?

(duck quacking) (gasping) Oh, no.

Hmm.

Hey, can you guys at home help me find his friends?

You can?

Okay.

Let's look all over the park and see how many ducks we can fi Quackers says that there are total of four ducks, but three are lost.

Ready?

Let's go.

Okay.

Let's see if we can find these ducks, but what sound does a duck make?

You're right.

It goes quack, qua So whenever we're looking for th we'll try our duck quack and maybe the ducks will come out.

Okay.

All right.

Let's see what we can find.

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quac Are you over here?

Not over here.

Hmm.

(upbeat music) Do you guys see any ducks?

I haven't seen any.

Let's try it Quack, quack, quack, quack, quac - (gasping) What?

You see a duck Where?

(gasping) Over there.

Yay.

♪ We found a duck ♪ ♪ We found a duck ♪ - I love the energy and exciteme emanating from Dribbles.

Speaking of which Troy, I know that, yes, you're a mover, you're a motivator.

And you've been bootstrapping th within the span of a year.

Just like I said, in the introdu amazing things have happened.

So you have someone, a musician friend named Dwayne Drain, that's been helping with the vid And I must say these videos are top-notch, exceptional.

Tell us a little bit about his c and involvement in this.

- Well, he's actually, he does a lot of music for the v So that's basically what he does He just looks at the music.

He produces it and he puts it in.

That's what he does.

- Now, let me just delve back a little bit further into your journey right here at Pensacola State College.

Because in a few short months, you're going to be graduating with a baccalaureate degree and I hope I'm going to be there to see ya.

Invite me please.

Speaking of which you're involved in a lot of educational associations at the college, you're such an humble person and for a student, to have done so much, it's off the charts, amazing.

It really is.

Now Kylie, back to you, as a you learning your ABCs, counting.

And we just saw a nice little du a friend of Dribbles.

Is there any specific subject in school that you love?

Do you have a favorite?

What is your favorite subject?

- Mm.

- Math, science?

- [Rameca] Math?

- Science.

- Science.

- Okay, science, Science, you love it all now.

Mommy, I know you have to be happy about that.

Don't you?

- [Kelsey] Yes.

I am.

(Kylie laughing) - She is.

She certainly is.

Now Danielle, you're hearing her and as an educator, I know it just warms your heart, doesn't it?

- Absolutely especially when it comes to a learning, 'cause I have a science background as well.

And it's great to see when children are really involved in the math and science, it's fu - [Rameca] It's so rewarding.

- It is.

- So wrapping up the segment, Tr the vision forthcoming for Dribbles and Friends and you've done so much already, but in a short few words or so, just tell us what the vision is, for the future.

- We're looking to get in school We're looking to put STEAM in all the schools.

We're gonna start here and work our way out, but we need to get into schools.

We need STEAM to become very, very active with our children.

- And I will tell you, Kylie just gave you a huge thumbs up, a moment ago and I'm in agreemen I would like to thank all of you for joining us for this segment.

I know I've certainly learned a I want to thank all of our guests for joining us.

And I would also like to thank you, our viewers.

WSRE is in the midst of our Spring Fundraising drive.

And it's because of the generous of viewers like you, that we are able to present programs like "Connecting The Community."

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary.

Remember to keep it locked in right here on WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast.

(dramatic music)