Our student-athletes are dedicated to both their academics and their responsibilities to their teams. Since our school campus opened 9 years ago, our athletic department has continued to grow and increase in interest. To meet that demand, we have had to increase the number of teams and opportunities.
Our student-athletes come from a variety of neighborhoods and two different schools.
When students join a team, it provides them with an opportunity to play and have fun, while making new friends. Students feel as though they have a safe place to play a sport, stay in shape, and bond with their peers. Sports bring out the best in students while teaching them about commitment, responsibly, teamwork, and most importantly sportsmanship.
My Project
As a NYC public school, green space is hard to find, and when it is found, it is often crowded. At the MELS Campus, there are 2 schools on our campus with only one green turf area, with multiple teams vying for that practice space. With the use of a pitching machine, we can construct a batting cage area separate from the field so that we can safely have multiple teams practicing at the same time.
A pitching machine will help our players improve their skill while saving us the time and money needed to visit a local batting cage to practice.
Hitting is all about repetition. It's hard for our players to hit a 50mph pitch in a game when they are not exposed to that speed in practice. Currently, we take trips to the local batting cage and pay high rates to use that space. With a pitching machine at school, that expense could be eliminated!
Our student-athletes are very committed to their responsibilities to their respective teams. As coaches, we are looking to help our players take their game to the next level. A pitching machine will help us teach better hitting fundamentals and bunting, work on hand/eye coordination and timing while varying the speed of the machine. This piece of equipment will provide us with so much versatility in practice and will translate into better hitting during gameplay.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. DiLapi and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
