The dream team, ready to help out local youth baseball team, The Brooklyn Bonnies!

Serving the community has always been fundamental to SPEAR’s values. We always strive to find ways to give back to our community and use our expertise, knowledge, time and resources to help out where we can.

This past weekend, our SPEAR teammates did just that by volunteering their time toward a free screening for the Brooklyn Bonnies, a team of youth Baseball athletes from the Bonnie Youth Club! Our skilled Physical Therapists spent dedicated time with each player, giving real-time advice on how to improve their athleticism and avoid injury.

SPEAR PTs Jeffrey Smith, PT, DPT and Chris Churchill, PT, DPT, CSCS lead a group of Brooklyn Bonnie athletes through an exercise.

The athletes visited several stations set up by our SPEAR teammates, who took time assessing their individual different needs. Our team covered many important aspects for these athletes, including mobility, balance, lower extremity range of motion, core stability, and postural control, as well as checking for any shoulder/elbow injuries. Each athlete received personal attention to ensure proper advice was administered, and to make sure they also got the most out of this screening, giving them the opportunity to ask questions about their specific athletic goals and issues to get the most out of their sport.

SPEAR is excited to partner with an organization as uplifting and encouraging as the Bonnie Youth Club. Founded in 1949, the organization uses baseball as a vehicle to capture young people’s interest, and then guides them in their academic endeavors. Most participants are from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds—the organization uses baseball as a means of communicating to those who might not otherwise be engaged.

Derek Lee, PT, DPT, assesses a baseball athlete’s shoulder.

The screening was a total hit out of the park—it was great weather in a great location, taking place at Parade Ground Prospect Park in Brooklyn, a beautifully restored 40-acre field with its own dedicated baseball field. Not only did the young athletes receive one-on-one aid, they also left with some cool SPEAR gear, including t-shirts!

The event was a great success! Thank you to our dedicated group of physical therapists for volunteering their time for this stellar baseball team. We love helping youth athletes excel at what they do by providing guidance on how to keep healthy and injury-free.

To learn more about the Bonnie Youth Club, visit their website at www.bonnieyouth.org!