The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) has helped youth improve their athletic ability and strengthen communities since the program first began in the 1960s. Dedicated volunteers like Martin F. Garcia serve as coaches, mentors, supporters and more and create a wholesome, supportive environment for youth.
Martin F. Garcia has taken on the role of sports manager in the Wauconda area for years, serving many youth baseball and softball teams. Partnering with the USSSA, he and other volunteers help kids in their communities grow both as athletes and respectable society members who have a strong network of support. Mr. Garcia and his peers bring the positive mission of the USSSA into their neighborhoods, providing a safe and healthy outlet for youth.
In their USSSA teams, youth learn how to play sports (or expand their existing abilities) as well as how to interact respectfully with their teammates and adults. In this way, the players are exposed to healthy traits that can help them succeed in education, physical fitness, interaction with authority and more.
The USSSA is one of the nation’s largest organized providers of sports competitions, made possible by the thousands of volunteers like Martin F. Garcia. Through the USSSA, youth can participate in competitive sports and get quality exercise all in a safe and comfortable environment where they learn positive values. The program hosts hundreds of games annually from coast to coast, spreading camaraderie and bringing together communities across America.
Headquartered in Florida, the USSSA aims to be the most visibly recognized, technologically advanced, and professionally represented sports organization in the world. They accomplish this by employing only qualified adults who can translate the association’s values during practices and games. For example, before coming on board as a volunteer coach, Martin F. Garcia exemplified sports talent in his own softball career.
“In order to teach these kids how to be better players, the USSSA asks for help from qualified coaches who have proven their own sportsmanship,” says Martin F. Garcia. “I’m able to help them improve their baseball skills because I’ve already spent years learning the ropes on my own.”
Martin F. Garcia has played softball in a number of different positions, namely shortstop, second base, and third base positions. In 2002, he played for the Licorice Softball team and won in the South Bend, Indiana tournament. In 2004, he played with Maxim Softball in Marshalltown, IA, and won 2nd in Team All American and played with Miller 45’s, winning in Glendale, Arizona. Four years later, Mr. Garcia played with Flashback and won in Crystal Lake, IL, and did so again in the following year.
“The real reason we’re here is to see these kids grow and to have a little fun playing sports,” says Martin F. Garcia. “If they become better athletes or treat strangers more kindly in the end, then we’ve done our job.”
