Community Voices
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Former LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino (bottom left) was honored as a Future Leader in 1994 while attending San Pedro High School. Click to enlarge. (photo: courtesy Mike Lansing)

In 1986, a handful of us involved in youth sports in San Pedro came together over several months to discuss how we could successfully advocate for much-needed additional youth sports facilities. 

A great example of the problem is when I would have my outfielders wear batting helmets while conducting baseball practice at the upper level of Peck Park since I was afraid they might get hit by another team’s ball as too many of us were trying to practice in a much too limited space. 

The San Pedro Youth Coalition (SPYC) became an official 501(c)3 in 1988. We became an all-volunteer nonprofit, and while the pandemic caused us to pause our efforts in 2020, we have come together to establish a new board of directors as we dedicate ourselves once again to the youth of San Pedro.  

While not always easy, our continuing advocacy/efforts with our elected officials over the years to expand the youth sports facilities in our community were ultimately successful. 

You can find our success securing $500,000 of improvements at the Bogdanovich Recreation Center, including a new tee ball field and upgrading the main diamond; the Boys & Girls Club’s Teen Center and Sports Arena at Daniels Field; and the large Field of Dreams soccer venue off North Gaffey. 

We helped secure Pirate Stadium and a new gymnasium at San Pedro High School, two small fields at Angels Gate, and converted the abandoned tank farms on 22nd Street to open space. 

We saved Bloch Field from extinction with two public presentations, as well as Fromhold Field. I believe our greatest facility success after many years of advocacy was securing three million dollars to build the gymnasium at Peck Park (recently renamed after Mel Bobich, one of the founding members of SPYC).

While securing additional youth facilities was our initial and primary goal, our group eventually wanted to do more to support the youth of our community. We established the monthly Youth Times newsletter to communicate our advocacy positions and highlight youth needs; we sponsored an important daily after-school tutoring center at the San Pedro Library, an annual track meet and youth talent show at San Pedro High School, and annual short story and poem contests at the San Pedro Library. In 1989, we established our signature annual event: the Future Leaders of San Pedro dinner.  

In 2020, the pandemic shut down this highly anticipated annual community event that recognized students from each of our San Pedro schools. This year, our reconstituted board of directors is bringing it back, and the event will be held on April 30 at the Dalmatian-American Club. 

At least two students from each school will be recognized (approximately 50 in all), and each will be individually introduced on stage before an audience of about 350 people. A short resume will be read on behalf of each honoree, explaining why they were selected by their schools. 

Over the years, we have recognized over 1,500 San Pedro students. This will be our 33rd Future Leaders event. The cost is $50 per person. As all honorees attend for free, we are looking for and need sponsors for this special event. To learn more, visit sanpedroyouthcoalition.org, email futureleaders@sanpedroyouthcoalition.org, or call (424) 287-7227.

The San Pedro Youth Coalition is back. We can use your support for this all-volunteer organization and this extraordinary event as we establish ourselves once again for the betterment of the youth in our community. 

To quote the great John Wooden, “When we are out of sympathy with the young, then our work in this world is over.” spt

photo of san pedro today author Mike Lansing

Mike Lansing

Mike Lansing is the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor.