White Sox ACE program helps turn a special mentorship into love, family

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The White Sox Amateur City Elite youth baseball program is one of the top initiatives in professional sports, let alone just Major League Baseball.

At the very least, as the legendary Ken "Hawk" Harrelson regularly would say, there might be some programs as good as the White Sox ACE, but none are better.

The annual ACE college signing day, taking place at Rate Field’s home clubhouse on Feb. 5, featured the program’s largest class to date at 23 members, meaning more than 300 players from ACE have earned scholarships. More than half of those 23 players from this year have been part of the program since playing for the 12U team.

Over 115 ACE players have earned college degrees, with more than 110 currently enrolled collegiately. ACE competitors at the Division I level total more than 145, while 30 participants have been drafted by 16 MLB organizations.

ACE is special in many ways, including the lifelong bonds formed through the program. In the case of Damon Gladney and Demir Heidelberg, a mentorship turned into family, with ACE serving as the conduit.

Damon is the father of DJ Gladney, a rising position player prospect for the White Sox who delivered the title-clinching hit for Double-A Birmingham during the 2024 Southern League championship series. DJ took part in ACE since he was on the 13U team, after his dad, an admitted football guy who played football in college, was introduced to the program by a friend.

ACE was free, had better training and played against better competition, which was the main draw for the Gladneys. They also appreciated the aforementioned assistance geared toward kids getting into college.

“Once we got involved, we started to hear about the other things they did,” said Damon, who runs personal hitting instruction out of the South Suburbs. “So, we became enamored with them. It was just love.”

Shortly after DJ was selected in the 16th round of the 2019 Draft, Demir’s father, Demetrius, who was known to many as Meechie, reached out to Damon on Facebook for a little baseball guidance after following what he did for DJ. After meeting with the father and son, Damon started training Demir when he was 12. Outside his own son, Demir was Damon’s first hitting client.

Last Mother’s Day weekend, Damon and his family found out Meechie was hospitalized with some very serious health conditions, knocking the Gladneys all backwards because of what they knew of the man.

“You have to understand, Meechie was a great guy,” Damon said. “Big as life, loved his kids, loved his son, we would talk for hours about dream building, all the things that he wanted for his son.

“When I say a father who went overboard and left nothing behind, he went all in for his kid. Whatever there was, any type of training tool he could find, he would buy and make sure his son had everything.”

Sadly, Meechie passed away later that summer. Before that time came, he asked his wife to call Damon and his wife to the hospital for a talk. He asked the Gladneys to be there for his family.

“He said, ‘I don’t mess with a lot of people. I trust you. I trust your wife. Please finish it. Please look after my son. Please look after my family,’” Damon said. “We always treat all our kids we train like family.

“But from that point on, Demir became my godson. I looked Meechie in his eyes and I said, ‘I got him. Don’t worry about him.’”

So, when Demir was at the Rate to sign his letter of intent for Eastern Michigan University, soon to graduate from Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Damon was there with Demir’s family. When Demir needed extra hitting or any kind of advice, Damon and his family were there.

In fact, Demir’s swing reminds Damon of the one featured by his son.

“I treat Demir like my son,” Damon said. “That’s exactly what he is to me.”

“Even if it’s just like a text every week, like, ‘Hey, how are you doing? What’s up?’ He’s always just there for me, asking me if I want to come hit in the cage,” Demir said. “I always think of them as family, more than just friends.”

Program goals for ACE, which began in 2007, are identified as the following by the organization:

? Identify and develop high-caliber Black baseball talent and increase exposure among college recruiters and scouts.

? Reverse the declining interest and participation in baseball among African American youth.

? Create a program that prepares each participant to succeed in life beyond the diamond.

A good fourth precept might be, “Welcome to the family.”

“ACE is just kind of like a brotherhood, almost like a big family,” Demir said. “All the coaches are really close and people that you can really trust. And then all the players, everybody is close and hangs out. Everybody knows each other.”

“As someone who played in the program, went to college, I know what the guys that came before me did to hustle and bustle with scholarship money and to make sure I had the things I needed to be prepared to play college baseball,” said Troy Williams, the White sox manager of ACE and community baseball programs. “So, I'm humble, I'm grateful and I'm just curious and hopeful for the future.”