- Wilkerson and the other coaches know this game represents more than runs and outs, winning and losing. The players on this field in Austin are among nearly 500 kids organized into a league by a Chicago police sergeant and community leaders who believe teamwork can change the lives of children who face crime and economic hardship every day.
They raised more than $15,000, got companies to donate equipment and signed up volunteers from police stations, churches and local organizations. The 20 teams play every Saturday in parks across the West Side, in some of the most violent areas of the city.
“These are the kids that we are out here trying to protect,” Austin District Sgt. Jermaine Harris explained one evening at another game, this one at Columbus Park, where the rumble of cars on the Eisenhower Expressway mixed with cheers from the stands.
Cops are almost never just cops - they're neighbors, parishioners, community leaders and coaches. And we were doing it before Groot said CPD has to "reconnect" with the citizenry.
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