Baseball and Academic Skills
Instructional Course (B.A.S.I.C.)
Reading enrichment through baseball- the ABF BASIC program can be expanded to serve a great array of underserved children through professional marketing of the program designed to expand BASIC’s reach.
Program Description:
During the last twelve years, the ABF has worked diligently to promote, improve and expand its Baseball and Academic Skills Instructional Coarse (BASIC) designed to expose underserved children in the United States to baseball/softball skill, while also teaching them the joy of reading and the benefits of stronger education. This is accomplished by having the children rotate every 45 minutes from a reading or math station located inside a classroom setting to a skill station such as throwing.
The fast paced program keeps the children’s interest by offering an integrated curriculum that shows them that reading can be fun as it relates to something that they are interested in—sports biographies.
Implementation History:
BASIC expansion has taken place in Birmingham where the contacts with other program providers are made and nurtured. The program spread to St. Louis during four years of summer implementation but was ended due to funding limitations. Programs in Indianapolis have been run as per the organizational needs of ABF partner, Play Ball Indiana. Two programs were run in Pennsylvania in 2006.
In 2009, the ABF implemented all facets of the BASIC program in and around Birmingham, Alabama in this manner:
- After school one day per week at Slosfield Library and Lewis Elementary School
- Two summer programs in Birmingham, on the west side of the city its 12 year and on the south side for limited English speakers its 6th year.
- In school programs were implemented in Birmingham City and Jefferson County schools during the month of May as part of the rewards program of Better Basics, Inc.
- Parts of BASIC were translated and implemented as a pilot project in Recife, Brazil during the late summer.
Batters Up for Baseball is planning to put a version of BASIC after school on its website and sell it to schools for $25.00 per copy, giving the ABF half of its earnings. The ABF also instructs children in baseball fundamentals with the aim of improving confidence in their ability to master the task at hand---whether hitting the fastball or throwing the change up
B.A.S.I.C. in School programs
BASIC- In-school
Basic In-school is a two-hour session that targets second, third and fourth graders who participate in baseball/softball skill sessions followed by reading or math sessions in the classroom. Use of LCD projector to read books that depict the lives of roles models stimulates group discussion of the obstacles overcome by civil rights sports pioneers. If available, children compete for raffle tickets for sports-related prizes.
ABF assistance in beginning a BASIC after-school program:
- Training of instructors
- Suggestions re use of academic materials
- Potential donation of raffle prizes
BASIC- after-school
Basic After-school features two-hour sessions in which the two groups rotate at sixty minutes intervals. The BASIC summer curriculum is adapted to fit the one-rotation system for elementary school children, ages 7-12. BASIC has been implemented for young junior high students. Safety reigns in the sport skills curriculum as plastic bats and balls are usually used for beginning players of unequal talent levels.
ABF assistance in beginning a BASIC after-school program:
- Training of instructors
- Curriculum that has been developed with the objective of children enjoying the experience of sports and academics combined
- Testing procedures as well as tests
- Program implementation as per demands on ABF staff
BASIC- Summer
Basic Summer is a five to ten day, four hours per day, program that has four groups of students rotating through two academic stations and two sport stations at 45-minute intervals. All reading and math academics are related to baseball. BASIC includes sport role models, nutrition instruction, sport skill building, self-confidence enhancement and application of math to baseball situations. Over the twelve years of BASIC, baseball/softball, tennis and soccer have been the sports that have been offered as a hook to entice children, ages 7-12, to combine academics with sport.
ABF assistance in beginning a BASIC summer program:
- Training of instructors
- Curriculum that has been developed with the objective of children enjoying the experience of sports and academics combined
- Detailed administrative steps as to how to plan and implement a BASIC program
- Testing procedures as well as tests
- Assistance in program implementation as per availability of ABF staff of experienced instructors
