OC native Freddie Freeman gives back to El Modena
Hometown hero Freddie Freeman is still giving back to his old stomping grounds, El Modena High School, in Orange.
ORANGE, Calif. – Some may know that Dodger star Freddie Freeman attended El Modena High School in Orange, graduating in 2007. There was quite a bit of news coverage when he recently helped unveil a clubhouse he literally helped build, with half a million dollars of his own money.
But his contributions and ties to the school go way beyond financial help.
He still regularly goes to the school during the offseason, where he hits balls on the field, practicing, while his sons and grandfather hang out with him.
“It’s surreal,” several student athletes told FOX 11. “Watching him practicing, even getting flustered sometimes. He is just like us.”
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The feeling that comes from seeing an amazing player come out of your school, especially when you were his high school coach, is “undescribable,” said Josh Kliner, who still coaches at the school. But, the camaraderie that it builds for student athletes today is palpable.
“I come to school to play baseball, and I do school work to stay playing” said one junior. “This is where I spend most of my time, and this is my family, which includes Freeman.” And that is a one in a lifetime chance!