When a group of young ballplayers took a knee to pray before their ballgame at a prominent USSSA Tournament recently, 13-year old Sean Matthews took notice.

The tournament comprised of teams from throughout the Southern California region and surrounding states had many story lines but, for Matthews, it was the sight of the Cougars open expressions of love for God that made the biggest impact.

“He came home excited to tell me about something (after the tournament),” said Barry Matthews, Sean’s father. “He had seen a team there that took the time to pray before and after each game along with exhibiting good sportsmanship during play.”

After doing a little research, the elder Matthews discovered the Inland Empire Cougars, a traveling team managed by Darrel Wittig. The I. E. Cougars are a successful traveling team compromised of 13-14 year old teenagers from around the local area. They received their nickname from their “parent” club: the Azusa Pacific Cougars.

The relationship between the 2 teams has been a labor of love for both sets of Cougars. What began as an initial mentoring practice with Inland Empire and Azusa Pacific assistant coaches Robert Ruiz and Tony Cougoule has continued with follow-up work and has everyone benefiting.

The work that the Azusa Pacific baseball team has done is part of a larger, consciously driven effort by head coach Paul Svagdis to emphasize community ministry as a part of his program.

“This started when we first got to Azusa Pacific because I knew we were blessed and I wanted to teach my players that it is important to give back,” said Svagdis. “Here at Azusa Pacific, we’ve done the same thing and the guys have enjoyed working with the kids.”

The baseball lessons that the players have imparted on the young people have been important but the life impact has ascended above all other purpose.

“I watched my guys sacrificing their time to work with 8-year olds and kids of other ages,” said Svagdis. “They are throwing them on their back and carrying them around. As a coach it allows me to see the passion that my guys have for the kids. It helps me realize what is important.”

Azusa Pacific has reached out across all boundaries and worked with teams from Azusa, Claremont, Upland, La Verne and Rancho Cucamonga among other cities. “This is a chance for us to reach out to the community,” Svagdis said. “We have gotten a great response thanks to word of mouth.”

While the current collection of clinics is in full swing, the process began for Cougoule when he was a youth. “When I was younger I had some older players work with me and it gave me the confidence that I could be a collegiate baseball player,” said the first-year assistant. “Now I want to give back and give others the same opportunity.”

Wittig’s travel team became the first team Azusa Pacific worked with one afternoon several years ago after practice. Ruiz ran instructional drills for Inland Empire as Cougar players aided in positional groups. The impact was immediate.

“In a short time, my players learned how to become better baseball players. They also learned that higher level athletes can be morally good people and that these coaches were leaders with high ethical foundations,” said Wittig.

The workout went so well that they continued for several weeks until Azusa Pacific’s season concluded. As the summer wore on, Wittig approached Ruiz about continuing to work with his team. Ruiz agreed and Cougoule soon joined him for the twice a week workouts. “The experience was beyond my imagination,” Wittig said.

Inland Empire officially claimed a new nickname as its own, affectionately becoming the “Little Cougars” to the players and staff at Azusa Pacific. The workouts have continued ever since.

“I saw it as an opportunity to expose a group of kids from all backgrounds to the college environment,” Ruiz said. “They look up to our guys and we can use it as a spiritual testimony.”

The experience has been good not just for the kids but for the players as well. “We have a blast working with them,” said All-American catcher Stephen Vogt. “I enjoy the coaching aspect of it because that is what I would like to do. It’s fun and relaxing to be out there.”

As a chance to share its faith with all the teams it has worked with, Azusa Pacific has focused on prayer before and after practice. What Sean Matthews saw that day at the tournament was the direct result of the influence.

“The ‘Little Cougars’ have become better baseball players under their guidance. But, more importantly, they have learned to give thanks to their Lord and Savior for the opportunity to play,” Wittig added.

Sean became a member of the ‘Little Cougars’ several months ago and his father, Barry, could not be more pleased at the influence. “When I saw these college kids give freely of their time and energy to help younger kids develop their baseball skills and show them that athletes can be outspoken Christians and not be ashamed of this heritage then I knew we made the right decision in being part of the team,” said the elder Matthews.

Based on the positive feedback, Azusa Pacific plans on continuing their work well into the future. “We do a minimum of 2 clinics a month during the season and some in the fall,” he said. “Regardless of the age or backgrounds of the groups we work with we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to extend ourselves to the surrounding communities.”