Club Juan Alberto Ozoria, Boca Chica
Stadium Juan Alberto Ozoria. Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. 2011.
Club Juan Alberto Ozoria was founded October 1, 1975. Club Ozoria is a grassroots social organization centered on the interwoven endeavors of tending the community, combating social problems, and cultivating the physical skills and moral character of the individual athlete. To those ends, Club Ozoria hosts cultural events, educational activities, and offers sport training and play. Baseball is the focus.
It all began in 1972 with the simple desire of Bocachiquenses to play ball regularly on a field of their own. Boca Chica had no proper baseball field. Incredible.
From no ballfield at all, Boca Chica is now a hub of MLB activity. 14 player development academies are located in or around it. Everything MLB goes through Boca Chica. But not much of the cash gets down to the people.
Nor is Club Ozoria federally subsidized. It gets by through athletic quotas, local sponsorship and, when fortunate, donations.
It helps that Club President Pedro “Niño” Guzmán is a savvy networker. You will see Stadium Juan Alberto Ozoria in film and in photos displayed in homes and along bar walls all over the world. Ex-pats return to Boca Chica for intercambios amistosos (friendly exchanges). They bring a team of ballplayers and spend a week playing and socializing with old friends. The Big Apple Sports Palace in Bayonne, New Jersey is one bar that supports these exchanges.
Nevertheless, like most clubs a dearth of adequate equipment impedes training at Club Ozoria. A bucket of old balls is zealously guarded. A cracked wooden bat is salvaged with duct tape. Bats are precious and, like all equipment, are used until they fall apart. A player uses whatever bat is available; he does not have the luxury of training with a bat whose length and weight work best for him, unless he has been gifted one by a relative in the United States. Few of the younger boys and girls have their own glove. Up to 45 children may share the equipment held in only one duffel bag.
Under these conditions Club Juan Alberto Ozoria trains ballplayers today to play Major League Baseball tomorrow.
It all began in 1972 with the simple desire of Bocachiquenses to play ball regularly on a field of their own. Boca Chica had no proper baseball field. Incredible.
From no ballfield at all, Boca Chica is now a hub of MLB activity. 14 player development academies are located in or around it. Everything MLB goes through Boca Chica. But not much of the cash gets down to the people.
Nor is Club Ozoria federally subsidized. It gets by through athletic quotas, local sponsorship and, when fortunate, donations.
It helps that Club President Pedro “Niño” Guzmán is a savvy networker. You will see Stadium Juan Alberto Ozoria in film and in photos displayed in homes and along bar walls all over the world. Ex-pats return to Boca Chica for intercambios amistosos (friendly exchanges). They bring a team of ballplayers and spend a week playing and socializing with old friends. The Big Apple Sports Palace in Bayonne, New Jersey is one bar that supports these exchanges.
Nevertheless, like most clubs a dearth of adequate equipment impedes training at Club Ozoria. A bucket of old balls is zealously guarded. A cracked wooden bat is salvaged with duct tape. Bats are precious and, like all equipment, are used until they fall apart. A player uses whatever bat is available; he does not have the luxury of training with a bat whose length and weight work best for him, unless he has been gifted one by a relative in the United States. Few of the younger boys and girls have their own glove. Up to 45 children may share the equipment held in only one duffel bag.
Under these conditions Club Juan Alberto Ozoria trains ballplayers today to play Major League Baseball tomorrow.
