From cops to coaches: South Bend Police invest in community through free PAL program

Photo by Michael Clubb

July 10, 2024

SOUTH BEND — Saint Joseph High School sophomore Maya Ewing learned tennis through the Police Athletic League when she was in third grade. Now, she plays for her school and works as a tennis coach through PAL in the summer, giving back to the program that formed her love for the sport.

The South Bend Police Athletic League offers an opportunity for school-age kids to receive coaching and mentorship throughout the summer. The free camp offers tennis, a variety of indoor sports as an all-sports camp, and track and field. Swimming is offered in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Michiana, but spots are filled for the summer.

Maya remembered trying to get adjusted to the sport when she first got introduced to it.

"I was figuring out if it was something that I like and I wanted to further do," she said.

The coaches made her decide to come back year after year, she said, calling them really welcoming and the camp a good environment to be in.

Maya hadn't had any interactions with police prior to attending PAL. Being coached by police officers has helped her grow comfortable with police, she said.

A group of 30 kids and coaches gathered at the tennis courts of Washington High School to start with stretches before grouping kids by experience. Tennis has two sessions: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and noon to 1:30 p.m. Anyone can register for tennis on-site and play the same day. Rackets are available and kids are asked to bring their own water. The camp ends Aug. 1.

It's Maya's second year coaching tennis. She usually works with younger kids but was instead paired with middle school and high school students with two to four years of experience. Kids received one-on-one attention. They moved by muscle memory. Each motion was fluid as Maya hit balls across the court to them to practice their forehand and backhand strokes — basic ground strokes.

"This makes sure they know how to play the ball across the field," she said. "It also helps them know how to play points off people."

She gave tips about setting up the body to hit, how to follow through with a stroke and when to open up the body more.

Much of Maya's role as a coach goes beyond what tennis techniques she can impart. Like the PAL coaches Maya had growing up, she's now a mentor. She recalled kids getting upset and asking them to take a break to calm down. If a kid was having a bad day, she said, she'd ask them to sit out before they were ready to come back. Maya said she takes their feelings into consideration.

Officer Tony Pacheco said the PAL program helps develop kids. They're taught to be a good role model, life skills, manners and life lessons.

"Kids from a variety of backgrounds come here," coordinator of the Police Athletic League Capt. Dave Herron said.

Some kids aren't respectful in the sport, he said, and they have to be taught to show courtesy.

Eighth grade student Ramses said the coaches inspire him and helped him play.

Watching him play, he'd show frustration if he missed a hit or a rally didn't go as long as he wanted. He remembered advice from his coaches. "They'd say, 'Don't give up and keep trying,'" Ramses said.

A successful first year for track and field

The summer camps feature non-traditional sports, Herron said, because that exposes kids to sports other than the major four: football, basketball, hockey and baseball. That includes being open to adding track and field this year.

“We’re always trying to find new activities for the kids to increase that police-community interaction,” he said. 

And track and field is starting off strong in its first year in the Police Athletic League. Athletes have the opportunity to become an Amateur Athletic Union member, providing them additional meets to compete in. 

The district qualifier took place in Indianapolis on June 22. Six kids medaled and qualified for regionals in Illinois, where they were barely edged out of qualifiers, Corey Washington, the father of runner Zyaire, said. 

Athletes practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at LaSalle Academy where they can harness their skills in track, shot put, discus and long jump. 

The kids, ages seven to 18, are divided into two groups: the younger kids warming up with high knees and the older kids warming up with dynamic stretches in preparation to run fast. Advanced younger athletes have the opportunity to be moved into the group with older kids. 

Coach Mark Liddell started his group of high school students with flying 10s — a 10-yard sprint.

“Speed needs to build up in the first 20 meters,” he told the athletes. “At 20 meters, you should be at your top-end speed, come out of your drive phase.” 

He told them they needed to generate power right out of the track.

They lined up and one at a time sprinted through two orange cones as he caught their speeds: 

Bryce: 1.72 seconds

Lamar: 1.89 seconds

Korry: 1.25 seconds

Korry, 14, a freshman at Riley High School said the environment at the camp is very respectful, with kids at all ages learning how to get faster. As a soccer player, running track helps him with his speed.

“The coaches have unique coaching styles,” Korry said, saying it’s more than just being assigned to run laps. 

Coach Georgia Wells, a school resource officer at LaSalle Academy, worked with a group of younger kids, helping them understand the basics of running in a race.

“Who knows what happens if you go before I say ‘go’ in a race?” Wells asked her group. “You get disqualified.” 

Wells grew up running with a love for the sport that carried over into her coaching. She started running track at 4 years old and then ran in high school and for Purdue University. 

As a current assistant track coach at LaSalle Academy, Wells pitched the idea of including track and field in the Police Athletic League. She took inspiration from her school’s current track program and from her own experience of attending summer programs as a kid.

“I took my knowledge of youth track to try to model the program after that,” Wells said. 

She wanted to create a program that had a mix of competitiveness, while also being easy to grasp, she said. 

“What’s a sprint?” Wells asked. 

“Running as fast as you can,” the kids yelled out. 

Friends Naomie, Peyton and Mario, who also participate in the all-sports camp during the day, practiced their sprints in the summer sun. Wells tied Peyton’s shoes for her for a second time. 

The 10 athletes were split into two groups as they used five lanes to run. Wells told the first line to go. 

Naomie drifted to the right. 

“Naomie, you’ve got to stay in your line, baby,” Wells told her. “You don’t want to run in someone else’s lane. You can injure them.” 

Though the kids are young, Wells said, they’re still given actual track workouts, with the group split between working on field events and running sprints.

Mario, 9, left the group to practice shot put. He modeled holding it, focusing on a power throw and leading with his hip. 

“The hand tells you where to throw,” he said. 

He enjoys running track and throwing, but he admitted that he cries when he’s frustrated. 

“It makes me sad,” he said but added that he gets better each day he comes. 

Life lessons

Herron called the Police Athletic League a good place to learn good sportsmanship and to meet new friends. 

“Not a lot, but some of these kids think to settle an argument is to fight,” Herron said. 

There’s been situations where coaches have sat down with kids, talked with them and have shown them a different way to resolve a problem, he said. 

“Don’t get upset and want to fight him,” Herron said about the advice he gives. “You try to beat him on the next one. It doesn’t have to come down to the blows.”

For him, that’s the most rewarding part — seeing how the kids change. 

Corey Washington’s son Zyaire, who plays soccer with the Jr. Irish and was just accepted to join the Chicago Fire Youth Soccer Club, joined track to be more active.

Washington is familiar with what the Police Athletic League offers and its coaching style. Zyaire also takes swimming lessons in the morning and boxing lessons through the program during the school year. 

“They offer different outlets for the community,” he said, “and I think that's a beautiful thing.” 

The discipline of the program stands out to Washington. 

“I think it’s very necessary at this age to allow them to understand (that) there’s order,” he said. “There’s rules they have to follow and that if they do that and put in the work, they can overcome, achieve and attain a little more than the average.”