{"id":143162,"date":"2026-02-23T21:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/143162\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:34:10","slug":"arcadia-partners-with-urban-youth-kings-queens-to-expand-baseball-access-in-philadelphia-philadelphia-baseball-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/143162\/","title":{"rendered":"Arcadia partners with Urban Youth Kings & Queens to expand baseball access in Philadelphia ~ Philadelphia Baseball Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Arcadia<\/a>PHILADELPHIA — Nine years ago, there wasn\u2019t a baseball diamond in Germantown.
There was an abandoned field \u2014 overgrown grass, no dugouts, no benches, no bathrooms, no infield dirt. It sat across from public housing. Forgotten.<\/p>\n

Haneef Hill saw something else. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found this field, it was fully overgrown grass. No dirt cut out,\u201d Hill said. \u201cBut in my mind, I was like, this is a beauty. There\u2019s a vision to this.\u201d <\/p>\n

He grabbed a shovel. <\/p>\n

For three and a half years, he waited for dirt. Eight years before batting cages arrived. He rented porta-potties. Bought portable benches. Cut grass himself. Eventually purchased a tractor to maintain the field. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you waiting on the city, you gonna be waiting,\u201d Hill said. <\/p>\n

Today, that same field hosts between 170 and 200 kids annually \u2014 ages four through 14 \u2014 through Quick Ball, developmental baseball, travel teams and expanding softball programs. <\/p>\n

But building access is only half the equation. <\/p>\n

Exposure matters. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Arcadia enters. <\/p>\n

Each winter, Urban Youth Kings & Queens – the organization founded by Hill – partners with Arcadia for an annual kickoff clinic inside the university\u2019s indoor dome. <\/p>\n

This year, more than 50 children participated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a nice indoor facility where the kids can get in there and learn,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIt’s been a success for a few years now, a really good event.”<\/p>\n

Arcadia players run drills. They interact. They demonstrate. They model what college baseball looks like. <\/p>\n

For kids who might never step onto a college campus otherwise, that matters. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about the opportunity you create,\u201d Hill said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make them want to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Arcadia head coach Chuck Thielmann credits assistant coach Dylan Tice for helping establish the relationship. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t take too much credit for it,\u201d Thielmann said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to give all the credit to our assistant coach, Dylan Tice.\u201d <\/p>\n

The partnership is now entering its third year. <\/p>\n

Arcadia players lead instruction for younger and older groups. The youth players have been invited to Kids Day games, running out with Knights players and throwing out first pitches. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really, really good for us,\u201d Thielmann said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool. We see the kids get better.\u201d <\/p>\n

Urban Youth Kings & Queens didn\u2019t begin as a baseball organization. It started with basketball. Baseball came because kids asked for it. <\/p>\n

There were no local leagues initially willing to host them. Hill took his team to New Jersey, where they were overmatched. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe went out there and got our butts kicked,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we committed to not running from the challenge.\u201d <\/p>\n

Now, some of his players quit football to focus on baseball. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear in a lot of inner-city communities that kids won\u2019t do baseball because of football and basketball,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI\u2019m doing the opposite.\u201d <\/p>\n

But sustaining that momentum requires more than passion. <\/p>\n

\u201cFinding volunteer coaches is very hard,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to get a dad to say, \u2018Tell me what to do.\u2019 It\u2019s another thing to get someone who can actually coach.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s where college partnerships become powerful. <\/p>\n

Arcadia provides not just a facility \u2014 but visibility, mentorship and credibility. <\/p>\n

When kids train inside a college dome, when they see players in college uniforms running drills, the game stops feeling distant. <\/p>\n

It becomes tangible. <\/p>\n

Hill doesn\u2019t shy away from the disparity between programs with full-time facilities and those building from scratch. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ryan Howard facility? That\u2019s the golden ticket,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t compete against 24-7 access.\u201d <\/p>\n

Urban Youth Kings & Queens built its field by hand. <\/p>\n

Arcadia didn\u2019t build that field. <\/p>\n

But by opening its doors, its players and its platform, the Knights help extend the runway. <\/p>\n

And for a program that now enters 2026 as the preseason favorite in the MAC Freedom, the impact runs deeper than standings. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about getting back to the NCAA Tournament. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s about making sure more kids from Germantown can see that path \u2014 and believe it belongs to them.<\/p>\n

Recent Philly | Phillies Baseball News<\/p>\n

Arcadia partners with Urban Youth Kings & Queens to expand baseball access in Philadelphia<\/a> (Feb 23)
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\n Phillies News from the Philadelphia Baseball Review<\/a><\/p>\n

Support the Mission. Fuel the Movement.<\/p>\n

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