Carlos Beltran made a promise when he became a professional ballplayer; to build a high school in his homeland of Puerto Rico. That promise will come true in 2010.
Beltran’s foundation will donate $10 million to open the English only high school, which will house grades 9-12. Beltran plans to have 120 students at the Carlos Beltran Academy in its first year. Beltran will donate $2 million of his own money.
Beltran’s objective is to produce more professional baseball players from Puerto Rico. For those not gifted enough, they will be better prepared for college. As it is now, there are only 29 professional baseball players who hail from Puerto Rico. Beltran wants to change that.
Says Beltran, "There are not a lot of kids in Puerto Rico that have the habit of practicing every day. They need to have a place where they can go and study, and at the same time they practice every day and have a good development program so they can become better ballplayers.
"Comparing Puerto Rico with the Dominican and Venezuela, we have to go through the draft; they don't have to go through the draft. So they sign 16-year-old kids and they put them in an academy and that kid can become a very successful player. But for us it's different. That's why I decided to build a high school specializing in baseball. At the same time, I want to create opportunities for the young kids not only about being a professional, but also about going to a good college and finding a scholarship, because all of them are not going to be able to make it to the big leagues."
Source: Adam Rubin - NY Daily News
Beltran’s foundation will donate $10 million to open the English only high school, which will house grades 9-12. Beltran plans to have 120 students at the Carlos Beltran Academy in its first year. Beltran will donate $2 million of his own money.
Beltran’s objective is to produce more professional baseball players from Puerto Rico. For those not gifted enough, they will be better prepared for college. As it is now, there are only 29 professional baseball players who hail from Puerto Rico. Beltran wants to change that.
Says Beltran, "There are not a lot of kids in Puerto Rico that have the habit of practicing every day. They need to have a place where they can go and study, and at the same time they practice every day and have a good development program so they can become better ballplayers.
"Comparing Puerto Rico with the Dominican and Venezuela, we have to go through the draft; they don't have to go through the draft. So they sign 16-year-old kids and they put them in an academy and that kid can become a very successful player. But for us it's different. That's why I decided to build a high school specializing in baseball. At the same time, I want to create opportunities for the young kids not only about being a professional, but also about going to a good college and finding a scholarship, because all of them are not going to be able to make it to the big leagues."
Source: Adam Rubin - NY Daily News
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