(upbeat music)
- Hey guys, so how are y'all doing today?
Couple of weeks ago, I called up Coach,
cause I was hearing about all the great stuff
that you guys were doing in the program.
So he said, sometime you need to come by and say hi.
So, I like to keep my promises.
(upbeat music)
How you doing, man?
- How you doing Mr. President?
- Listen, you know, I'm just trying to keep up with you.
- To talk to President Obama, that's huge.
I mean, I got some bragging rights.
(whistle blowing)
Championships and all that,
that's fine, but I got chance to talk to the first
African American President of the United States of America.
(mellow music)
My name is Ernest Radcliffe and I am the director
of the Show Travel Baseball program
and the South Side Wolfpack football program.
(whistle blowing)
- The Show Travel Baseball, I started in 2016
The program is designed to give young people
an opportunity to continue to develop,
play high level baseball,
and then move on from high school to college
to get their degrees.
Wolfpack programs is 24 years in existence.
We started out with 25 kids.
And to this day now, we have 140 in the program.
Youth sports is the number one vehicle
to saving our youth because we can capture them
at a younger age, we can instill a discipline,
comradery, character, team values.
They can use those team values for everyday life.
- Being under him changed my life, completely.
It was a lot of building up discipline
and building up respect,
and becoming a young man.
- He develops young men.
He teaches them respect.
He's real big on developing your character,
you know be a model person on and off the field.
- We a father figure to tons and tons of young people.
If you give children the opportunity
to being something positive,
you never know where they might blossom to.
- Well, I'll tell you what Coach,
what you guys have done is tremendous.
I mean, I know somebody told me that one of your former
football players, he's an ER doctor
and he's teaching at the University Chicago Medical Center.
I mean, that's no small thing.
And it's just one of hundreds, thousands of examples
of folks who've benefited from the program.
- As a head coach, as a director, it's my responsibility
to make sure that everyone comes through our program
are able to get a good education.
We push them through high school
and we move them on to college.
And once they do that, come back into the community
and start it all over again.
- Well, if they are, it's going to be in part
cause of you.
- Everybody knows that the Jackson Park football field,
that is the Wolfpack's home.
And now that the Obama Presidential Center is coming,
that is going to be a tremendous honor
for all the people in the community and our young people.
- It's my responsibility to make sure
that once the library is up,
that every young person in our program
steps foot into the library
because, someone out of our group
could be the next President of the United States.
- I'm going to be looking forward
to maybe coming by and seeing some of your team members.
But that, that would be fun.
- I would love that Mr. President.
- Coach, I told you I was coming by.
You didn't believe me.
(people laughing)
You know, I don't just tell stories.
- Oh my god.
- I hear y'all just had a big win.
- Yeah, we did. - Yeah, yeah.
- My high school team won the city championship.
- Congratulations, man.
- Thank you.
- That's Obama. (whistle blowing)
- Wolfpack.
That's Obama, yeah, that's who it is.
(crowd cheering)
- So, when I knew that we were coming to Chicago,
I said, well, I'm going to come by and see all these
outstanding young people.
- How did you feel growing up in like,
when you were like in tough situations and such.
- Sometimes you're going to have some doubts.
Sometimes you're gonna make mistakes.
Sometimes, you won't get what you want right away.
But the key is, you know can you build that strength
in yourself to come back?
We're all gonna have some times where we're disappointed.
How do you learn from your mistakes?
How do you deal with hard times, in a positive,
constructive way.
And then, keep pushing.
I just want all of you guys to know that we're proud of you.
And I'm going to be looking for you guys to do great things
in the future.
- Everybody say "Wolfpack".
- Wolfpack.
(group clapping) Of course that's going to fit.
(upbeat music)