Sandlot offers baseball, fastpitch, and life skills
SALT LAKE CITY — "Sandlot, an indoor baseball and fast-pitch softball training facility in South Salt Lake, is a good business that benefits the children in the community," said Stacey Liddiard, president of the South Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. "The youth not only learn how to play baseball from professional instructors, they learn life skills and teamwork," said Liddiard. "This gives them something to do after school during the winter months when they cannot play baseball or softball outdoors. "We have a lot of children in South Salt Lake, and a lot of them are disadvantaged," said Liddiard. "So we welcome those kinds of businesses and things that can help the children become good citizens." Sandlot Baseball & Fastpitch Academy is co-owned by Kent Nickles and Jason Bourgeois. Their wives, Mary Nickles ,KUTV 2 news anchor, and Candice Bourgeois are also part of the organization. The Nickles are members of Saint John the Baptist Parish, Sandy. Sandlot is located at 815 West 2400 South, South Salt Lake City. It is a 15,000 square foot indoor facility equipped with new indoor batting cages, a ProBatter Sports video projection pitching machine, hands on training and guidance by trained instructors and coaches. Students learn the fundamentals of baseball and fastpitch softball using simple drills and visual/tactile learning systems. Sandlot offers classes of all levels. During Sandlot’s grand opening, they sponsored a three-day fund raiser for the Police Athletic League (PAL). South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder said, "For the city of South Salt Lake to have a world class baseball training facility within is boarders is amazing. The fact that the Sandlot owners opened their arms to PAL and the youth of our community is exceptional on their part. It gives our kids an opportunity they may not get otherwise." Chief Snyder said at PAL they try to teach good decision making skills and good values. "We do a lot of that through athletics and instilling the skills of teamwork and leadership in the youth," said Chief Snyder in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic. "Sandlot is a great fit for the city and for PAL, and will be a great thing for our community. "Throughout the year PAL also offers flag-football sponsored in part by the National Football League," said Chief Snyder. "We also have TEAM PAL, which is an acronym for Together Each Achieves More. The program involves middle school students and through grant money we can fund programs for them. "The youth do weekly community service projects and learn what it is like to give back to others in need in the community," said Chief Snyder. Chief Snyder said for example during Thanksgiving the youth cooked dinners for a select group of refugee families. "We were also able to send a couple of youth to Mason, Ohio, and New Orleans, La., last summer to participate in some training and leadership camps," said Chief Snyder. "There is a benefit for them to be involved, and the fact that they have adults who are interested in them succeeding is a good thing for us. PAL is open for any kids in the community who want to participate. However, a lot of our programs are geared toward at-risk youth. Our programs are set for after-school hours, and during the summer when we are trying to occupy their time so they are doing something constructive." "They do a lot of mentoring and leadership skills and have some great programs," said Mary Nickles, who has been on the PAL board for five years. "PAL was looking for a fund raiser, and Sandlot just made sense. We were able to set up some contests, hold a silent auction, and we just happen to find a place in South Salt Lake." Nickles first became involved with PAL 15 years ago helping out with a fund raiser. They selected her as a television personality and an athlete. She went to college on a volleyball and basketball scholarship. "I know how important it is for the youth to be on teams. Girls really need to learn to be team players so when they get in the business world they know how to get along with others and do what the boss says or they don’t play," said Mary. "They learn how to accent their skills, help other people use their skills, and learn life skills. "At PAL the officers are the coaches, the referees, and help run the leagues. "The officers become friends with the kids instead someone they fear or dislike. The kids learn to respect the officers and their community, and they learn somebody cares about them. It breaks the cycle of crime." "We started Sandlot because I’m a dad first," said Kent Nickles. "That is really what Sandlot is all about. Jason and I are dads first, and coaches second. We realized as we were having to travel out of town last winter for our team to practice that there was a real need in this valley for another indoor facility that caters to all ages and all talent levels. There are a lot of people just like us who want our kids to be better and have the opportunity to work hard and improve." "Our kids are not elite players ready for college scholarships," said Bourgeois. "They are just kids who want to learn to play baseball and fastpitch softball better." "Sandlot kind of goes back to your childhood," said Kent. "It is pick-up games, having fun, working hard, and taking those same skills and applying them to life. The programs within Sandlot are designed to not only help the kids become better ball players but also better people overall on the playing field, in school, and at home." Kent said they have a program called the Champs Program. Each week the kids are given a letter for the acronym Champs. C is for coachable. They try to live up to what the word means by helping out at home and in school by working as hard as they can. H is for honor. They learn respect for other people. A is for attitude. M is for Mentor. P is for Perseverance. And S is for sportsmanship, which is to conduct oneself in a fair and reasonable behavior while playing a sport, including observance of the rules of fair play.
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