Kilpatrick Baseball on Road to Respectability

His team has yet to win a game this season, but baseball coach Keven Dell’Amico is building a program to be proud of at Camp Kilpatrick, where success is measured by more than victories.

The teenage correctional facility in the Santa Monica Mountains just outside the city limits has no home field, so the team has to travel for every game. Some players have never picked up a glove or swung a bat prior to joining the squad. 

“This year, only one guy has played high school [baseball] before, the rest may have played Little League or in the park with their friends,” said Dell’Amico after Thursday's 20-3 loss to Windward School. “There's no junior varsity, no feeder program. You certainly don't take this job to win CIF championships.”

The primary function of the camp is to rehabilitate boys ages 12 to 18 who have committed gang-affiliated and other low-level crimes. Coaches must be peace officers. 

“It's a chance for kids to turn their lives around through sports,” Dell’Amico said. “We want them to learn basic life skills, to be competitive and show character and sportsmanship. Winning is icing on the cake.”

The Mustangs have only one victory over the last three seasons and are 0-10 this spring, with all their games so far being against private schools.  

“Of all the sports, baseball takes the most time to learn because the skill set is so specialized,” Dell’Amico said. “You can have the best athletes, but if they haven't been taught the fundamentals, they're going to have a tough time.”

Athletic Director Donald Freeman went to the Windward game, and said he was pleased the Mustang players kept their cool despite falling behind by 10 runs in the second inning.

“I coached [baseball] myself for a number of years, and I miss it,” Freeman said. “Some of them have no idea what to do. Here, you're working with kids who can barely catch and throw.”

Although the team was held to three hits, Kilpatrick committed only one error and put runners on base in the Mustang’s last at-bat Thursday.

“It can be frustrating at times, but I haven't had any incidents,” Dell’Amico said. “I've never had any kids thrown out or seen an umpire yell at them. After every game, I tell the kids, ‘You showed yourself as pros today.’” 

Dell’Amico knows what it takes to win. He grew up in Westchester and played baseball and football at Loyola High in Los Angeles. As a football running back and linebacker, he made the all-state team and was the most valuable player in the Del Rey League his senior year.

Ultimately, Dell’Amico chose baseball and was an All-West Coast Conference catcher and outfielder at  in 1992 when the Waves won the College World Series. He played three years professionally in Australia and Europe.

When his playing days were over, Dell’Amico became an instructor for the West Coast Baseball youth league, and he was coaching at a camp in Agoura when he first crossed paths with Freeman, then the Kilpatrick coach.

“He asked me if I was interested in helping out over there, and I applied after our conversation," Dell’Amico recalled. “I knew it was something I wanted to do.”

Dell’Amico was an assistant coach for the football team that played in back-to-back Southern Section Division XII finals. After four years at Kilpatrick, Dell’Amico left to work as a field officer for eight years. But the urge to coach eventually led to his return.

Dell’Amico also coached the Mustangs’ soccer team in the winter and guided it to an 11-4-2 overall record and a berth in the Southern Section Division VII playoffs.

The Mustangs advanced to the quarterfinals and, more importantly, conducted themselves like champions on and off the pitch. So much so that the team, along with the Kilpatrick basketball squad, won the CIF Spirit of Sport Award and will be honored in a ceremony on the field at Dodger Stadium at 5:30 p.m. Monday, before L.A.’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

“For us to receive that honor is like winning CIF because these are kids who are not attending school regularly, who are breaking the law and are not doing what they should be doing,” Dell’Amico said. “Coaching soccer this year was extremely rewarding and the kids are solid individuals who will go out in the world and be productive.”

Dell’Amico's only regret is that he won't be there in person because the Mustangs are playing Sierra Canyon at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa. Accepting the award along with Freeman will be senior soccer player Jose Rangal, who earned second team All-Delphic League honors.  

“I'm very proud that our teams were chosen because this award is voted on by your peers and it tells me that other teams recognize how well-behaved our players are,” Freeman said. “It means our coaches are doing something right.”