Real skills.
Real fun.
Zero pressure.
Coaching, clinics, and camps built around how your kid actually learns — kid- and family-centered baseball development from a coach your neighborhood already trusts.
Serving Hyde Park · Kenwood · Bronzeville · Near South Side · South Loop, Chicago
Every kid is capable.
Sandlot Skills is built on one idea, play all the way around the bases:
Sandlot Skills starts from a simple belief: every kid is capable, and confidence comes from real competence, not empty praise. Sessions are built around how your kid learns — not a one-size-fits-all curriculum — so kids get to develop real skills, take on leadership, get creative, and just play, all at their own pace. It's low-pressure by design: fun and skill-building aren't in tension here, they build each other.
Coach Joel Worthington Founder & Head Coach, Sandlot Skills
"I want to be the kind of coach I wished I had — sessions built around your kid's development, real skills, real reps, real fun, and zero pressure."
- Head coach, Hyde Park Kenwood Legends (House, Fall Ball & 8U Travel)
- Big-class high school & American Legion baseball; college offers
- Nationally & internationally competitive racquetball
- Human-centered design strategist & facilitator by profession
- Hyde Park parent of two — both play in HPKL
- Lives and coaches in Hyde Park — embedded and invested in this community
Coaching that meets your kid where they are.
Coaching, clinics, and camps — pick what fits your family. Sandlot Skills also now offers baseball special classes through local school aftercare programs; reach out if your school might be a fit.
Private & Small-Group Coaching
60-minute sessions in Washington Park, Kenwood Park, or by mutual agreement. Ages 7–13+, all skill levels. Sessions start with a real conversation about your kid, not a generic curriculum.
Clinics
Focused, small-group clinics on a single skill at a time — built for kids who want to drill in on one part of their game.
Sandlot Skills Camp
A full week of small-group, kid-led skill development at Washington Park — throwing, hitting, fielding, base running, and the confidence that comes from real reps.
Sandlot baseball, the way it was always meant to be.
Gone are the days when kids can just wander over to a field and organize their own game. Sandlot Skills Camp brings that back — fun, play-based, kid-driven, a little experimental — with a coach around to keep it safe, keep it moving, and sneak in real development along the way.
- Kid-led games kids help invent and run themselves
- Announcing, umpiring, and calling their own plays
- Trading baseball cards
- Baseball history & talking favorite players and teams
- Swapping baseball stories
- Designing brand-new ways to play the game
- Trying out new positions, activities & skills
- Real throwing, hitting & fielding reps, woven in — not shoved in
It's structured, but unstructured — kids get to contribute, lead, and create, while Coach Joel quietly builds in the technical and life skills underneath all the fun.
Trusted by neighborhood families.
"He focuses on making it fun, meeting my son at his skill level, and building confidence and a love for the game. I truly cannot say enough about how much he pours into the kids he coaches."
"Coach Joel makes baseball fun and meaningful for young athletes, helping them develop not only as players but as people. He is an incredible role model who makes a difference every game, every practice, and every day."
Let's talk about your kid first.
Reach out and we'll figure out what format makes sense — before committing to anything. More to come soon: full camp registration, a real site, and a proper logo.