North Ward News Youth Development & Recreation
Read this article as it originally appeared in The Patch on July 4, 2012
Many of the kids from Newark's North Ward Center Little League program who traveled to Yankee Stadium Friday night wore their Yankee shirts and hats and cheered loudly for their favorite players – Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriquez and Derek Jeter.
But there was one player on the visiting Chicago White Sox who would have received the loudest cheer if he had taken the mound.
Read this article as it originally appeared in The Newark Patch
For Anthony and Hector Santiago Jr., playing baseball together is a black and white kind of thing.
The Newark brothers grew up playing for North Ward little league teams and even competed together for county and state titles at Bloomfield Tech (with Anthony catching southpaw Hector Jr.). Now, the two have the rare chance to reunite again on the diamond – this time in the big leagues.
Read this article as it originally appeared in The Patch | LocalTalkNews.com
The North Ward Center kicked off their Little League baseball season with a parade that culminated with opening day festivities in Essex County's Stephen N. Adubato Sports Complex in Branch Brook Park in Newark.A crowd of almost 1,000 joined the opening day's processions as hundreds of smiling children dressed in their team uniforms marched along with their parents and siblings down Mount Prospect and Bloomfield avenues to the park.
All five divisions of The North Ward Center's baseball program along with teams from the Roberto Clemente Little League participated in the more than 30 year tradition.
Read this article as it originally appeared in Newark Patch
Before they’re allowed to shoot baskets, children enrolled in The North Ward Center’s recreation program first have to hit the books.
The after-school tutoring program, designed for students in kindergarten through sixth grades who are struggling in school, was launched in response to parents’ demand to put academics before sports.
Read this article as it originally appeared in Patch.com
Growing up in Newark, a young Hector Santiago would amble over to Ironbound's Independence Park and watch his father and his friends play softball until dusk.
Santiago was not just content to watch. He wanted to play catch with the older men.
