After spending 14 years playing Major League Baseball, Steve Sax is known worldwide as a legendary athlete. During the span of his career from 1981 to 1994, Sax played for the L.A. Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, and the Oakland Athletics.
Now, Sax has a different venue in which to use his influence. Through the Steve Sax Foundation, he is dedicated to motivating and encouraging the youth of America, and he recently made a special stop in Santa Maria to draw awareness to his cause and spend time with local youth.
“We spoke to well over 300 youth over the last couple of days,” Sax said. “We talked to them about the mentoring program and some of the key issues it will address such as peer pressure, making good choices, goal setting, how to treat the opposite sex, and many other topics.”
Sax visited with members of the Breakfast Rotary and the Noontime Kiwanis. In addition, he shared his message with a team of Special Olympics World Games softball players, as well as adult and youth softball participants at the Hagerman Sports Complex and youth at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center. He also spent time with community members at the Strawberry Festival, with the AVID students at Tommie Kunst Junior High, the Orcutt Academy baseball team players, staff from the Recreation and Parks district, and students in the Transition Special Needs class from Santa Maria High School.
“Many of the youth that we spoke with were very interested in the program, and we will be following up with them and seeing if we can get them enrolled over the next few weeks,” he said.
Learning from others and developing the skills needed to succeed in life are a big part of his mentoring program, according to Sax, and kids who complete the program will become eligible to receive college scholarships. While in Santa Maria, Sax and his foundation team added their first Teen Ambassadors, also known as Sax’s Sluggers, and started the Santa Maria Chapter of the foundation; both groups are comprised of volunteers who are helping to promote and create awareness for the foundation locally.
So what led Sax to start his foundation?
He “wanted to find a way to give back to our youth, and what better way to do so then to help prepare and build the future of America. I have been mentored and cannot begin to tell you the growth I received during my mentorship. Using my baseball career has helped me to create the platform needed to start the teen mentoring program and the foundation,” Sax explained. “It has allowed me to spread the word a bit easier and open some doors to sponsors and donations that may not be as easy to open otherwise. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the career I did and now want to give back to the youth of America through this mentoring program.”
He feels that it’s important for teens to have a sense of perspective from their fellow peers on day-to-day issues they may be facing. Sax also said that having a forum and a safe place where teens can seek guidance and advice is crucial. As he travels the country and takes his message to youth, Sax has become more aware of the obstacles that many teens are facing in their daily lives, including peer pressure, teen suicide, drugs and alcohol, how to deal with the opposite sex, and preparing for college.
“We plan on addressing all these key issues and get various perspectives from numerous teens to see how they deal with these hot topics so that our youth are better prepared and equipped to work through them,” he said.
So just how does one get started in the mentoring program?
The program is offered online, and teens may sign up at stevesaxfoundation.org. The six-month program includes weekly mentoring sessions and action steps for participants to engage in after each session. Teens are required to attend 90 percent of the sessions, complete 20 hours of community service, and write a paper on why it is important to go to college. After paying for the first child, a second child may sign up for free, whether it’s a sibling or a friend.
Those seeking tuition for the program will be placed on a waiting list and signed up when funding becomes available. In addition, any child who has lost a parent in the military or in law enforcement will be signed up at no cost.
“I had a great visit in Santa Maria,” Sax said. “Overall it was a highly successful trip, and I look forward to visiting again in the near future.”
Meagan Friberg is a contributing writer for the Sun. Reach her through Editor Camillia Lanham at clanham@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 7, 2015.