Homerun For Life: Building Strategies for Life

Coach Gene Tate came to Las Vegas, Nevada thirteen years ago from East Palo
Alto, California to start a youth baseball program that has changed the lives of
hundreds of kids. This July, Tate will become the first coach to lead an African
American youth baseball team to Cuba to compete against Cuban youth. Tate
started the East Palo Alto T-Ball/Pitching Machine in 1992 to teach Baseball and
Life Skills to young. But unlike most other youth baseball programs, Coach
Tate’s program is completely free! “Today, we serve over 400 youngsters per year.
We teach the kids baseball, but we also teach them life skills and through baseball they
can gain character,” says Coach Gene Tate. “In taking our talented African American
youth to play competitive baseball in Cuba we will be exposing them to an international
playing fi eld, full of even more diversity and culture for them to discover.” The program
promotes the awareness of the Old Negro League whom teams played from the
late 1800’s through the early 1960’s. The names of the nine teams are named after
the Negro League Teams: St Louis Stars, Homestead Grays, Chicago America
Giants, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Kansas City Monarchs, Baltimore Elite Giants,
Indianapolis Clowns, Birmingham Black Barons, and the New York Black Yankees.
Our Focus is to teach the ideals of Sportsmanship, teamwork and community
pride.