Fifty girls attended the Providence High Diamond Clinic Softball Camp and learned the fundamentals and also had tons of fun. (Photo courtesy Manny Travieso)
By Rick Assad
Fifty girls in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades recently gathered at Olive Park for the Fifth Annual Providence High Diamond Clinic Softball Camp in collaboration with the ELLA (Empowering Leadership In Latina Athletes) Sports Foundation.
The three-hour event was overseen by Manny Travieso, the Providence head coach and also featured Tony Medina as the guest speaker. Additionally, several current and former players assisted.
After stretching, the youngsters were taught the fundamentals of softball such as turning the double play, playing catch, fielding and hitting as everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves as expressed by so many high fives.
Travieso has led the Pioneers to the Prep League championships over the last three straight seasons and has also coached international players.
“Our unique Providence Softball Camps play a vital role in our community by providing accessible training opportunities for young athletes. They offered players and their families a chance to participate in high-quality instruction without the financial burden often associated with sports camps,” he said. “During these challenging economic times, such initiatives ensure that every aspiring athlete can benefit from top-tier coaching and skill development.”
Travieso, who is an assistant coach at Vermont State University, feels these gatherings help in a variety of ways.
Manny Travieso and a few campers at the Providence High Diamond Clinic Softball Camp for girls in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. (Photo by Rick Assad)
“The camps serve as an excellent platform for players to connect with experienced and trained coaches, fellow athletes who have competed at the highest levels, including college,” he said. “This exposure can be incredibly inspiring for young athletes, helping them dream big while gaining valuable insights into what it takes to succeed in the sport.”
Travieso outlined six points that camps help youngsters hoping to play softball.
They include: 1) High-level training: “Participants receive collegiate-level training from skilled coaches, including current and former college players,” he said. “This experience enhances their understanding of game strategies, techniques, and mental aspects of playing at a competitive level.”
2) Skill Development: “Through focused drills and practice sessions, campers develop their softball skills, from the offense and defense sides,” he noted. “This hands-on training prepares them for the next level of competition.”
3) Networking Opportunities: “Campers and their families have the chance to meet and interact with coaches and players who have vast experience in the sport,” he said. “This leads to empowering the families to keep learning to help their student-athletes succeed in the future.”
4) Exposure to Different Training Styles: “By experiencing a variety of coaching methods and philosophies, campers can better understand what training techniques resonate with them and which areas they need to develop further,” he stated. “Often we tell players what to do, but not why we want them to do it or the benefit behind it. By understanding the reasoning and not just going through the motions because “coach said so,” they can learn to get better.”
5) Confidence Building: “Engaging with peers who share a passion for the game fosters camaraderie and healthy competition, boosting the campers’ self-esteem and motivation to improve,” he said.
Tony Medina, a longtime softball coach and instructor, works with some campers on how to get in the proper position to make the force out and throw the ball to first base. (Photo by Rick Assad)
6) Setting Goals: “This camp environment encourages players and their families to think about their future, especially if they aspire to play at the college level,” he stated. “Exposure to discussions about college athletics can help them set realistic goals for their softball careers.”
Travieso then summarized why these camps are important.
“In essence, these camps provide not just skill development but holistic growth for young softball players, helping them to pursue their aspirations with confidence and determination,” he said.
Medina has been a softball coach for more than four decades and is the founder of Medina Softball Clinics.
“Campers benefit from the clinic in so many ways. One being able to train with Coach Manny, myself and all the college players on the same field,” he said. “There are many different travel ball teams and organizations that attend. It’s a way to come out and learn from all of us.”
Because there is a difference in age for many of the campers, the skill level is also different, but the individual will still receive helpful instruction and attention according to Medina, who has taken his camps to more than two dozen states as well as Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and American Samoa.
“There is no judging at these camps. We have all different skill levels that attend and we cater to them all,” he said.
This camp was intended for everyone and it designs on inspiring girls to continue to play softball.
“From this free clinic campers go home feeling good about being able to be around all these different players and coaches knowing they just got better and had a lot of fun in a sport they really love,” Medina said.
Youth sports camps are essential according to Medina.
“It is important to have these camps because in today’s competitive softball world there is not enough fun and Manny has created a space where players and parents know they will learn a lot and enjoy the experience of ELLA and Medina Softball Clinics,” he added.
A young softball camper fields ground balls, which is an important fundamental of the game. (Photo by Rick Assad)
Lilly Travieso played softball at Alemany High and Cornell University, is the founder of ELLA and offered her opinion of why these camps are helpful for the youngsters.
“Campers benefit by gaining high-quality sport instruction in an inclusive environment that pushes them to grow and hone in their athletic skills – regardless of financial barriers,” she said. “Through ELLA’s free three-hour camp, girls in the sixth through eighth grade were able to learn fundamentals from quality coaches in the area.”
Travieso, who graduated from George Washington University with a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Business Studies with concentrations in Sport Management and Marketing, added: “Our toy drive reinforced the importance of giving back to our community and supporting one another during the holiday season.” she said.
There is great value in camps such as this one according to Travieso.
“These camps are important because they remove barriers to youth sports and ensure that all girls have access to safe, high quality, empowering athletic skills clinics,” she noted “This further reflects our mission to use sport as a catalyst for equity and positive impact on and off the field.”
Patti Workman is Providence’s assistant coach and its pitching coach.
“Giving back to the community has always been a priority for Providence High School. Together with ELLA Sports Foundation, our softball program was able to give back to our community offering a free softball camp,” she explained. “Our players really enjoyed spending time mentoring and teaching the younger players.”
Workman, who was a pitcher at Oregon State University, was pleased at the turnout.
“What an amazing opportunity for young softball players to attend camp where they are able to gain valuable insight and knowledge through hands-on drills,” she noted. “It was a team effort! The camp was led by the Providence softball coaches, players, alumni, who are playing in college. Also special guests, Lilly Travieso and Tony Medina. It was a great evening for all.”
Grace Workman played softball at Providence and is currently on the Fullerton College women’s softball team.
“I believe it is very important to give back to our Providence softball camps which is a great way to reach out to our community,” said the English major. “I enjoy teaching and coaching the younger generation of softball players.”
Workman, who spent one season on Burbank’s softball team, continued her thought.
“I love the game of softball. I have made lifelong friendships and have traveled to many states for tournaments,” she added. “I have so many wonderful memories and I want the next generation to experience all that softball has to offer.”
TEXARKANA, Texas — Last January, hundreds of kids packed into Pleasant Grove’s indoor athletic facilities, trading a cold Saturday morning for a shot to run drills with professionals, high school standouts and three siblings who grew up just down the road.
The Wacha Family All-Sports Camp is coming back to Texarkana on Jan. 10, and if last year’s turnout was any indication, this event has outgrown the label of just another fundraiser.
What started as a grassroots idea — three siblings offering a few hours of sports instruction to local youth — has grown into a major community effort. It now draws support from multiple school districts, professional athletes and a long list of volunteers who carve out time each winter to give something back.
Michael, Lucas and Brette Wacha, all former athletes at the college or professional level, lead the camp. Along with coaching support from schools like Texas High, Liberty-Eylau, Arkansas High, Pleasant Grove and others, the siblings will help kids rotate through stations in baseball, basketball, football, volleyball and soccer.
Last year’s event brought in more than 200 kids, despite freezing temperatures and widespread power outages across the region. The PG gym and indoor field stayed buzzing throughout the day, with Michael’s Kansas City Royals teammate and fellow pitcher Seth Lugo and former Liberty-Eylau and Boston Red Sox standout Will Middlebrooks among the guest coaches.
While the camp focuses on skills and fun, the bigger win is what happens off the field. Proceeds from the event go directly to the Salvation Army. In 2025, the camp and its banquet raised nearly $50,000, money that funds scholarships for those who can’t afford after-school care or summer programs.
According to the Salvation Army, the need is real. Most of the kids in the program rely on some form of financial assistance, and leaders say events like this help keep doors open and services running.
The camp’s impact also extends beyond youth athletics.
Last year, Texas A&M University-Texarkana joined as a partner, offering scholarships to students or returning adults who show a strong track record of community involvement. Two recipients shared their stories during the banquet, including one who had spent part of his childhood living in the local Salvation Army shelter.
The camp started as a way for the Wacha family to give back to their hometown. It’s grown each year with help from local coaches, athletes and volunteers, and organizers expect another strong turnout this January.
Wacha recognized for philanthropy
In June, Michael Wacha was named one of the 2025 season’s Most Valuable Philanthropists by the MLB Players Trust.
The award, given to six players throughout the season, honors those who showed a strong commitment to charitable work and positive social impact beyond the field. In recognition of Wacha’s efforts, the Players Trust awarded a $10,000 grant in his name to Make-A-Wish Missouri and Kansas.
Wacha has supported a range of charities during his career, with much of his focus on helping kids and families.
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(This article is part of a continuing series that will spotlight the Wacha Family and Friends All-Sports Camp before it returns in January.)
After initially suspending the case due to lack of evidence, Petaluma police arrested a suspect who was allegedly caught on video surveillance tracing racial slurs and swastikas onto the dusty windows of local youth mentor and former Harlem Globetrotter William Bullard’s SUV.
As KRON4 reports, the Petaluma Police Department reviewed a week’s work of surveillance footage from early December, which was obtained from the garage where Bullard’s SUV was parked, and identified Corey Newman, 20, of Petaluma, allegedly defacing Bullard’s windows.
As SFist previously reported, the police department initially dropped the case before reviewing the footage, claiming there wasn’t sufficient evidence. The case has since been reopened, per the Chronicle, likely due to Bullard’s posts about the incident, shared to his large following — not to mention the subsequent media coverage.
“I’m doing this for awareness. I’m doing this to educate people, and I’m trying to let them know don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself if something happens like this,” he said, per KGO earlier this month. “Like, what’s the worst thing that can happen? It can be ignored by the police, OK, but at least you spoke up.”
“The Petaluma Police Department takes all hate-related incidents seriously and remains fully committed to conducting thorough and impartial investigations,” said the police department in a press release. “Crimes motivated by bias have a profound impact not only on those directly affected, but also on the sense of safety and well-being of the entire community.”
Police arrested Newman during a traffic stop on Christmas Eve. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail for the commission of a hate crime and vandalism, per KRON4.
Image: NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 19: William ‘Bull’ Bullard of The Harlem Globetrotters Ring The NASDAQ Closing Bell at NASDAQ MarketSite on December 19, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Steve Zak Photography/FilmMagic)
Previously:Hate on the Rise: Ex-Globetrotter’s SUV Defaced in Petaluma, San Jose Teens Form Human Swastika
Jewel Annette Devall Rodgers was born on September 29,1954 to Harman and Marcy Devall in Beeville, Tx. She entered Heaven’s gates on December 26, 2025, with her mother, sisters, and children by her side. She was 71 years old.
Jewel grew up in Pettus and attended school there, graduating in 1973. She married her High School Sweetheart, Robert Rodgers, on June 8, 1974. She, like both of her sisters, was an LVN, working in home health after years of working as an ER nurse. Jewel was also a licensed beautician. She took great pride in her family and loved staying involved in everything she could to spend time with her kids and grandkids. She was a fixture for years at her kids and later her grandkids’ sporting events, whether it be a youth sports organization, or her favorite team, the Pettus Eagles. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Pettus.
She loved camping and often shared her cherished memories of times spent at the lake in Mathis or from her times on the Frio River. There were trips to Louisiana and Cancun she spoke of often. It was time she spent with her entire family, often sharing her RV or renting a cabin, enjoying time away from reality as she called it with those she loved the most in life. You could always count on a game of dominoes or Yahtzee at her campsite, clean up to the time everyone else at the table either started cheating or conspired to keep her from winning. If nothing else, she always was competitive, even after she retired.
Jewel was someone who loved and truly valued each of her many friends that she made over the years. She held each of them close to her heart. She would do anything for anyone and give anything she had to anyone in need. Whether she had it to spare or not. She spent countless hours listening to and sharing with anyone who’d listen along with her, her music from the 60’s. It was nothing to have her ask you to download a certain song because she had someone on her heart and that song reminded her of that person. Music and the joy it brought her accompanied every memory she had with every single person she encountered in life.
She was preceded in death by Maternal grandparents Ray and Francis Crepps. Paternal grandparents Harman Leavette and Jewel Devall. Her Father, Harman Devall, her husband, Robert Rodgers, a granddaughter, Victoria Lyssy, and two grandsons, Gavin Rodgers and Richard Gomez III.
Left to cherish her memory are her mother Marcella Devall of Pettus, sister Carman (Johnny) Gisler of Pettus, sister Fran (Bobby) Pargmann of Pettus, daughter Shannon (John) Hodge of Pettus, son Robert (Jena) Rodgers of Beeville, and son Michael (Misty) Rodgers of Mineral. Grandchildren John Robert Hodge, Marcella Hodge (Shonn), Chris (Kristen) Lyssy, Maddisyn Rodgers, Robert Rodgers, Darryn Rodgers, Savannah Rodgers, Stephen Perez, Brandy (Kiara) Perez, Dara Gomez, and Krystal Gomez. Great Grandchildren Patton Lyssy, Hayden Lyssy, Kinsley Gomez and Richard “Little Pops” Gomez. Many nieces, nephews, cousins and her many friends she loved like family.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 from 10am until 11am at Eckols Funeral Home in Kenedy, Tx. A service will be held at the funeral home chapel beginning at 11am, with a graveside service to follow at the San Domingo Cemetery in Normanna. Pallbearers are John Robert Hodge, Robert Rodgers, Darryn Rodgers, Stephen Perez, Chris Lyssy, and Matt Helford.
will host youth swim lessons at various times Feb. 2-April 15, at the Bemidji State University pool in the Gillett Wellness Center, 1801 Birch Lane NE.
Lessons are scheduled for the following times:
Mondays/Wednesdays Feb. 2 – March 2
Level 1 swim classes will run from 6:15 to 6:50 p.m.
Level 2 swim classes will be held from 6:55 to 7:30 p.m.
There will be no class on Feb. 16 due to President’s Day.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5.
Tuesdays/Thursdays Feb. 3 – Feb. 26
Level 3 swim classes are set for 6:15 to 6:50 p.m.
Level 4 and 5 swim classes will be held from 6:55 to 7:30 p.m.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5.
Mondays/Wednesdays March 23 – April 15
Level 2 swim classes are set for 6:15 to 6:50 p.m.
Level 3 swim classes will be held 6:55 to 7:30 p.m.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3.
The cost is $72 for the series. Class sizes are small with two instructors. No more than 8-9 participants age 5 and up are allowed in each level.
To register and for additional detailed information regarding each level, visit
www.ci.bemidji.mn.us.
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Tesoro Coach Steve Garrett and his players congratulate St. Anthony after the loss Saturday. (PHOTOS: TIm Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Tesoro’s boys basketball team has had a remarkable season so far with a 14-3 record.
But the Titans, coached by Steve Garrett, weren’t able to finish Saturday, losing to St. Anthony 64-55 in a second round game of the Ringo Bossenmeyer Holiday Classic at Tustin.
Tesoro had a six-game winning streak snapped.
To see additional photos, click on the first picture:
Tesoro players warm up before Saturday’s game.
St. Anthony players head to the sidelines during a timeout after a big run.
St. Anthony (2-0 in Pool A) appears headed to the championship game of the eight team tournament Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. vs. Servite. Tesoro dropped to 1-1 in pool play.
“We weren’t consistent enough to earn a win tonight, that’s the main thing,” said Tesoro Coach Steve Garrett, now in his 25th year as head coach. “There were four or five defensive possessions in a row where we didn’t stick to our principles, four or five possessions where we had good drives to the lane and didn’t take it up strong, we didn’t earn the fouls, didn’t finish.
“We went away from the defense, we got to earn wins and I just didn’t think we were consistent enough.”
Tesoro was led by sophomore Owen Hatch, who had 17 points and his brother Carson Hatch, a senior, who had 12 points.
Jamil House led St. Anthony (6-5) with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds. House, the only Saint in double figures, had 18 of his points in the first half to help the Saints move out to a 22-16 halftime lead.
St. Anthony led by five points after three quarters. Owen Hatch made a 3-point play with 5:26 remaining before the Saints regained control and finished with a win.
“There was a stretch where we were down two and we have five of our seven possessions at the rim and I just thought they weak takes,” Garrett said. “You got to put pressure on the refs with a strong drive and finish the play and then the couple we missed, we missed our free throws. We were seven of 17 from the line, we should have gotten to the foul line at least 25 times, not because of the refs, but because of us, that’s a big factor.”
Max Draper and Dean Mika added nine points each for Tesoro.
“The kids are great, all these guys have literally played together since fourth grade,” Garrett said. “They all know each other, they’re extremely close, they count on each other for their success. Tonight, I just know we could have been overall a little bit more consistent when we needed to.”
Tesoro plays another pool play game Monday vs Beckman at 1:30 p.m.
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Lawmakers from the 18th Legislative District are taking steps to protect children in youth sports programs with new legislation.
House Bill 2180, sponsored by Rep. John Ley (R-Vancouver) and endorsed by Rep. Stephanie McClintock (R-Vancouver), would require youth sports organizations to conduct background checks via the Washington State Patrol. It also prohibits hiring anyone with convictions for crimes against children.
It also instructs the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to create mandatory training on reporting child abuse specifically for youth sports coaches.
Ley emphasized the importance of these measures, stating that the bill was prompted by a concerning incident.
“This legislation was prompted after concerned parents encountered a convicted sex offender who failed to disclose his conviction while seeking to coach their children,” said Ley. “By requiring background checks — paid for by the individual or organization — we give parents and program administrators better tools to protect kids.”
McClintock expressed her dedication to child safety, stating her support for the bill.
“Protecting kids will always be a top priority for me,” said McClintock. “As a mom, this legislation closes dangerous loopholes and helps ensure youth sports remain a safe environment for kids and families.”
Ley also extended gratitude to the community member who raised the issue.
“I also want to thank the constituent that brought this matter to our attention,” said Ley.
The 2026 legislative session is set to begin on Monday, Jan. 12.
Jewel Annette Devall Rodgers was born on September 29,1954 to Harman and Marcy Devall in Beeville, Tx. She entered Heaven’s gates on December 26, 2025, with her mother, sisters, and children by her side. She was 71 years old.
