We are hosting our 7th annual Dominican Republic Family Trip which will take place Monday, February 20th to Friday, February 24th, 2023. The trip is for all ball players, ages 6-13, who want to come play some country hardball with our players in the town Consuelo. I will be leading this trip alongside one of my best coaches Julia Hiemstra and several other longtime HRBC coaches.
We will take a roster of only 25 and anticipate this trip to fill up quickly. We’ll go first come, first served. Families from all over North America are welcome to sign up.
We practice in the morning and play a full game every afternoon mixing in with the Dominican youth programs we partner with. We are hosted by the ImpActa Foundation, created by Consuelo native Manny Acta, former manager of the NY Mets, Washington Nationals, and Cleveland Guardians. He is currently the third base coach for the Seattle Mariners.
Home Run Baseball Camp was invited almost 25 years ago to Consuelo by the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception to create a program called Beisbol y Libros in the public school system, alongside a few retired Dominican Major Leaguers. Home Run has expanded our work with the sisters to include support of their senior home and primary health care clinic serving the community. In 2019-2020, Julia lived in Consuelo for about nine months, serving the community in a teaching and coaching capacity with HRBC. She is currently in graduate school and working and coaching at Edmund Burke School in Washington.
A few points:
• Lodging – We have blocked 25 rooms at Hodelpa Garden Suites in Juan Dolio. The hotel is located about 25 minutes to Consuelo by team bus. Hodelpa has good WiFi and very nice breakfast included. You may use the referral code 001424 when making your reservation. Please call 809 688 9999 to reserve and let our contact at Hodelpa, Fany Rodriguez know if you have any questions (fanyrodriguez@hodelpa.com).
Of course, folks are welcome to stay wherever they’d like and meet us for the team bus at the front of the hotel.
• Cost – Home Run Baseball Camp doesn’t charge anything for this week. We ask families to make a $750 donation directly to the Grey Sisters in support of their primary care health clinic and the incredible work of Dr. Vasquez and Sister Natividad. We ask families to make a $100 payment to Home Run Baseball Camp for our bus costs to and from Consuelo each day. Parents are welcome everywhere we go. But you are not required to join us if you prefer to work or have time off.
• Travel – The closest airport is Santo Domingo Las Américas (SDQ) about 30 min from Juan Dolio. Punta Cana (PUJ) is also a good option, located about 1.5 hours from Juan Dolio.
• Schedule – We are generally back by 6:00pm each day and there are several good dinner spots nearby the hotel. We recommend a local taxi service overseen by Lucas Soriano for your airport transfer and getting around on your own. He has been working with us for over 20 years hosting our families. We will let you know his prices in advance.
We will send a complete detailed itinerary and player expectation note from us once folks register.
- Safety– Ballplayers will be supervised at all times and safety is our top priority. We have never had a safety issue or injury there and hope to keep it that way.
If you are interested in going, please contact Julia Hiemstra at aupark@homerunbaseballcamp.com.
We have worked with the Consuelo community leaders for over 22 years and feel this is the best approach.
All the best, Coach Mac