Summer means baseball for many kids. Hitting a home run. Throwing that ball to first base to get the out. Batting in the winning run. Playing on a team. All are dreams they hold.

For some, though, those dreams can be out of reach, either because of cost or because of talent. It’s a shame since playing a sport not only fulfills dreams for many kids, it can help shape their lives.

Bob Miller, Real Estate Donations (RED) USA president, wants help kids make those dreams come true.

He’s founded a new baseball and softball program for youth called Coach’s Kids. Its mission is to help youth who want to play but cannot afford the expense of travel baseball $1,500-$8,000 per summer or who are not at the talent level required to play travel baseball.

At Coach’s Kids the cost is $100 a player or $800 a team. Miller says teams can be any size, which lets parents and others get together and share the cost. The program is open to all kids in metro Detroit and no tryouts or cuts are required to participate.

The first phase of the program for youth 12- to 18-years-old will begin this summer. Opportunities for those five-years-old and younger are in the works.

“Kids need to have a place to have fun playing baseball and softball with their friends while making it affordable for their parents,” says Miller.

Sign-up day for Coach’s Kids will take place Saturday, May 19 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Vicki’s Ice Cream, 26145 W. Six Mile Road in Redford Township. You can also sign up on line by clicking here and then clicking on Coach’s Kids.

The program runs from June 12 through July 31.

Games will be played at 6:00 p.m. on both Tuesdays and Thursdays at Redford Union and Thurston High Schools in Redford Township.

Miller is looking for baseball shirt sponsors. The cost is about $16 per shirt or around $200 per team. T-shirts would be OK as well. “If I can just get t-shirts I could buy a lot for $500,” he says.

The program will also encourage youth to work hard both on and off the field and follow their dreams.

“We mentor kids not only in baseball and softball but to win the biggest game of all … life,” says Miller, who wants to expand the program to other sports.

To help kids learn conflict resolution and to think strategically, at every game there will be one inning with no coaches. The kids will decide who plays where.

Miller is the former varsity baseball coach at Redford Union High School where his teams won both on and off the field. The graduation rate for his teams was 100 percent and 90 percent of his players were scholar-athletes. He is also the son of former Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher, UDM baseball coach and Michigan Hall of Fame Member Bob Miller Sr.

Coach’s Kids is sponsored in part by Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Revitalizing Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program. MLB supplies the equipment and web support for this program. Coach’s Kids is only one of 50 charities in US approved by MLB.

Editor’s note: Real Estate Donations (RED) USA was founded in 2007 to accept donated properties to sell in order to raise funds to help the missions of other charities. The organization funds Coach’s Kids and is commited to serving youth.

For more information, please visit www.redusa.us and click on Coach’s Kids. You can also contact Bob Miller by e-mail at coachbobmiller@yahoo.com or call 248-939-4114.

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