Homeless Coach Builds Diamond in the Rough

Homeless Coach Builds Diamond in the Rough

The Compton neighborhood of LA is a tough neighborhood, inundated with gangs and drugs, and the sound of sirens. One man in Compton found an abandoned diamond in the form of a baseball field. He is using it now to make a difference.

When he came across this field, he remembered a time when it had life, and it was a good thing. Where have all the children gone in this rough neighborhood? Tim used to play little league baseball there 40 years ago, long before Compton was synonymous with gangs and drugs. long before Tim himself became an addict and before he realized that kids were following his lead.

In an effort to get his life on track, he thought maybe, just maybe this long forgotten park could be his field of dreams again. "Everybody needs to feel like they belong to something, I think that's why they join gangs, they want to be a part of a group, so baseball is a good thing"

So Tim has started a few baseball teams, with young boys that look up to him as a father figure, he's teaching them right from wrong. These young boys are listening to his advice, and becoming a part of a team.

The most remarkable thing about it, is that Tim lives in his car. He has been homeless for two years. He spends his nights watching t.v on a portable television, and reading the Bible. He brings that spirituality to the field, to his boys, who he considers his extended family.

Tim realized that the kids in the neighborhood, who have been involved in drugs, stealing, and killing, they were too young to know exactly what they are doing, just like he was, so by adding life to this field, and forming teams of boys he could make a difference in steering them in the right direction. He knows of his mistakes, but has never given up hope for himself. In being a mentor and coach to these children has inspired him to help himself out of this life.