This DC summer program is teeing up the youth for the future

Kid hits ball off of T-ball stand — A kid hitting a ball off a T-ball stand at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on Thursday, July 9, 2026, as part of the Summer Youth Employment Program. (WTOP/Heather Gustafson)

The Summer Youth Employment Program provides D.C. youth with meaningful opportunities to work, learn and build pathways to future success. (WTOP/Heather Gustafson)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaking at the Summer Youth Employment Program on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (WTOP/Heather Gustafson)

The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is located in Southeast D.C. (WTOP/Heather Gustafson)

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Summer is in full swing and for many teens and young adults in the District, that means more than just time out of school. For 15,000, it means a paycheck because of one program.

Jeffrey Myers, a recent high school graduate, is a coach at the Summer Youth Employment Program.

He has been in the program since the eighth grade and plans to continue contributing to the initiative while attending college at North Carolina State University.

Myers told WTOP that the program is a split “between the classroom and on the field,” and that he works on the field.

“We play sports with them, but also we teach them lessons through the sport we play,” Myers said. “In baseball, if they were to not have the best game, we teach them that it’s not about the success, but rather how you learn from your mistakes.”

He coaches younger kids who are in third grade to seventh grade.

“We’re able to not just be all stern, like we’re in a class. We’re able to just have fun with the kids and enjoy it and have a great time here,” Myers said.

Founded by then-D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry in 1979, the Summer Youth Employment Program was created with a goal of providing District youth with meaningful opportunities to work, learn and build pathways to future success.

“Mayor Barry understood that investing in young people was investing in the future of Washington, D.C. and his vision created a program that has opened doors for generations of Washingtonians,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

Myers, or coach Jeff as he is known to the players, said he hopes he can come back in the future to the summer program.

“The academy has given me so many opportunities, from speaking from Congress members, to getting scholarships, to traveling around the country to play baseball, in Seattle, Dallas and Atlanta last year,” he said. “I hope I can always just give back every single time I have a chance to.”

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