ASHLEY WELLING
Staff Writer
Major League Baseball player, award-winning humanitarian and a coach for a nationally-ranked college baseball team — if looked for long enough, a person possessing all of these qualities would be hard to find. Luckily for Pepperdine and Malibu, that person can be found down on the diamond coaching and mentoring the Waves baseball team.
Reaching head coach status in 2003, former Boston Red Sox player and Pepperdine alumnus Steve Rodriguez has been the driving force behind the Pepperdine baseball team’s positive image both on and off the field.
“Being an athlete, you have such a big responsibility to the younger generation to be a positive role model,” Rodriguez said. “The kids we mentor are the future of the sport, and it’s so crucial that we show them that being an athlete isn’t just about how you are on the field.”
Holding baseball clinics for Malibu Little League players is another feat Rodriguez can add to his resume. With his personal baseball memorabilia donations and consistent fundraising events, he has been able to keep these clinics going with little financial input from the players’ families.
“Sometimes I look at the collectibles I’m giving away and all I want to do is take it back,” Rodriguez said about his donations. “But I know that it’s about something bigger than me, and that is such an important lesson for young athletes to learn.”
It is exactly this outlook that won him the Jake Kuredjian Award from the Malibu City Council for his service in the community in October. While he feels the award was a little overwhelming and not at all necessary, he likes the recognition it brings to the cause for which he fights.
“Receiving that award and being a former Major League player just shows our team how much experience and heart he possesses,” explained Assistant Coach Sean Kenny. “He is a great leader and a great fit for the university.”
Making appearances at food banks from Santa Monica to Palos Verdes and hosting camps year round, the players are no strangers to Rodriguez’s views on community service.
“I’ve volunteered handing out food to the homeless and was a part of Step Forward Day,” said junior baseball player Nate Simon, who did all of this with Rodriguez. “But it would have to be the smiles on the kids’ faces while teaching them how to play that made it all worth it for me.”
Explaining the reluctant players are the ones who will grow the most out of these experiences, Rodriguez keeps the faith and foresees the growing presence of his team.
“They are definitely a force in the community,” Rodriguez said about his team. “But to the kids they teach, they are celebrities.”
All this constant positive exposure sheds new light on the future of not only Pepperdine’s next generation of baseball players, but on the future of the sport itself.
“Sometimes there are negative images portrayed of our sport,” Kenny said. “I’ve met a lot of coaches, and Coach Rod is one of the most unassuming and down-to-earth people I’ve met. He really has a great opportunity to influence the next generation to make decisions not based simply on their own agenda.”
With the upcoming season approaching, Rodriguez must shift his attention to his players’ performances on the field but continues to keep his eyes set on the future.
“It’s about the relationships you build,” Rodriguez said. “And showing our children how important teamwork, education and service are above all else, is something I feel absolutely honored to do.”
02-07-2008
