The Children of Summer: Diamond Skills Baseball Camp
Written by Gavin Cerda-Zein SJND ‘28
This summer, I helped work at a local summer camp at Rittler Park in Alameda, California. The camp is called Diamond Skills Baseball Camp and is for players aged 5–12. At this camp, coaches specialize in hitting, pitching, and field positions to train kids to become better players. The camp was split into two age groups: players aged 5–9 and 10–12.
Coach Atticus Gonzalez (SJND ’22) had this to say about coaching and connecting with these young players: “My favorite part is that it reminds me of how I am supposed to play the game of baseball. Sometimes, when we grow up, we forget the love for the game and how we are supposed to play like children just having fun. Working with the kids reminds me of the joy behind the game of baseball.”
At Diamond Skills Baseball Camp, a celebrity or MLB player makes appearances. This includes Giants legends Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford, former gold glove winner Matt Olson, MVP Josh Donaldson, a movie star from the infamous movie The Sandlot, Patrick Renna, and that is just a few. I had the opportunity to ask the camp creator, Dustin Chavez (SJND ’04), on his favorite part about the celebrities coming to the summer camps: “Having celebrities come to our hometown fields and giving kids the opportunity to meet and interact with them up close and personal.”
The camp helps players from not just the Bay Area but all around the world. A camper from South Korea has attended for the past few summers, and every time he comes to America, he always attends the camp and gets better. There have also been many players from different areas in the U.S.; this past summer, there was a camper from Fort Worth, Texas. With the number of baseball players now, it always helps to go to the ball field on a warm summer day and have fun. The summer camp has been around for close to 15 years, with the first camp being in 2010!
The camp also offers an “all-sports week”, meaning that the campers play many different sports, such as football, basketball, soccer, dodgeball, etc. We had the highest attendance for the all-sports week this year, with the list reaching around 45 campers. Coach Mike Harris had this to say about the all-sports week: “The variety of sports we get to do, and we get to meet other kids that play different sports.”
Working with these young athletes this summer helped me realize where I started my baseball career. They taught me to have fun and play the game enthusiastically. Finishing the summer, I learned a lot about the game of baseball, having fun, and staying happy.
SJND Pilot Island Editorial Staff 2024–2025:
Editor-in-Chief: Anne Obuchi ‘25
News Editors: Jaslyn Ho ’26 and Jeanette McClure ‘27
Features Editors: Naomi Seche ’26 and Anabel Arista ‘27
Opinion Editors: Nicolaus Thyen ’27 and Victor Pham ‘27
Reviews Editor: Austin Ly ’27 and Sean Kimbrew ‘27
Sports Editors: Jayla Anderson ’27 and Jeremiah Myers ‘27
