In July, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project welcomed some of the community’s youngest children to a brand-new sports league at Ho’n A:wan Park. Forty 4- and 5-year-olds had the opportunity to learn to play T-ball, and participants’ families report that the inaugural program was a resounding success.
The Lucios are one of those families. Lee Lucio and his granddaughters, Bella and Hailey, are well-known to the ZYEP staff. Lee often brings the girls to shoot hoops or kick soccer balls at Ho’n A:wan Park, and when registration for T-ball opened up earlier this summer, he put Bella’s name on the list.
“I wanted to sign them both up, but Hailey was only 3 years old,” Lee says. “She just turned 4. Last week, Tyler (Sice, ZYEP’s physical activity coordinator) asked if she wanted to join the team.”
“We were missing a couple of players, so she came in and saved us!” notes Tahlia Natachu, ZYEP’s executive director.
Bella says she enjoyed T-ball. When Tahlia asks her what she liked the most, she replies, “Watching the grown-ups bat.”
Hailey agrees shyly, commenting she liked watching everyone too.
“You were good hustlers,” Tahlia says to them.
During the four-week T-ball league, ZYEP divided the children into four teams of 10 players each. They attended practice every Wednesday morning for an hour and T-ball games every Friday morning for an hour.
In addition to learning to play a new sport, the children also learned about teamwork and building confidence. Community engagement was high, with families actively involved in both practices and games.
When asked what he enjoyed most about the experience, Lee says, “Coming out here, getting exercise with the granddaughters, meeting all the different parents and different kids. It was really enjoyable, a lot of fun.
“Back when their mom and uncle were going to school here, we didn’t have any of these activities for the summer,” he continues. “It really helps the kids in our community to be involved in these programs here.”
