THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 28, 1994 TAG: 9407260137
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The message was clear: Baseball is great, but reading is better.
``I'm real proud of what you're doing with your summer,'' Norfolk Tides manager Bobby Valentine told about 20 eighth- and ninth-graders from Northside and Blair Middle Schools July 20 at Norfolk's Kirn Memorial Library.
``Baseball is not near as much fun as being able to spend your time reading,'' Valentine continued. ``I'm never without a book, on the road or in my office. Reading can be an important friend in your life.''
The kids listened intently, but when it came time to ask Valentine questions, they wanted to know about Darryl Strawberry and the controversy behind a $300 fine recently imposed on the Tides.
After a few minutes of talking with the baseball coach, the teens separated into groups to decorate baseball caps, play the sports version of ``Win, Lose or Draw,'' and pitch balls at a target.
Later, they attended a pizza party and a Tides baseball game.
``I collect baseball cards, but I've never been to a baseball game before,'' said 12-year-old David Johnson, a student at Blair, as he decorated a cap. ``I'm excited.''
Pairing baseball and the library as a way to encourage inner-city kids to read and help build their self-esteem is the purpose of the regional program called ``Turning the Tides.'' During July and August, 320 kids in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake will get the chance to attend programs in their cities similar to the one at Kirn Library and attend pizza parties and a Tides game.
It's all sponsored by the Bertha Snyder Children's Care and Camp Fund and Leadership Hampton Roads with assistance by the libraries in each city. Funding is provided through a grant from the Portsmouth-based Beasley Foundation. Other financial assistance comes from Burger King, Pizza Hut, Farm Fresh, Be-Lo and other area companies. The city of Norfolk supplies the Tides tickets.
Now in its second year, the program also receives support from the Tides' players.
``We like to feel like we're role models to these kids,'' said Valentine. ``So we're trying to help in whatever way we can . . . to encourage them to read and take part in other education programs.''
Middle school principals chose summer school students for the library program based on their good attendance and performance.
``It's really a carrot for those kids who are reluctant to come to the library,'' explained Patrick Devine, a Norfolk lawyer who dreamed up the program and now helps implement it. ``For most of us, athletics is not the answer to getting ahead. It struck me that we needed a program that stresses academics rather than athletics.''
By focusing the library programs on baseball, he added, kids can see that through reading they can still be active participants in sports, even if they no longer have the abilities to compete.
If funding permits, program coordinators plan to donate money to libraries for the purchase of books in the names of the graduates. ILLUSTRATION: Bobby Valentine: ``Reading can be an important friend in your
life.''
by CNB