Utilisation of social determinants of health to improve education among youth in Dominican baseball academies.

Traditional youth baseball academies in the Dominican Republic, along with the potential of a major league baseball contract, are viewed by many parents as the best option to pull a child and family out of poverty. These academies advance the child's athletic abilities yet fail to provide formal education. Unfortunately, 97% of athletes leave the academy without a contract and are left with little education, job skills, or stable job prospects which ultimately returns them to the life of poverty they had hoped to escape through baseball.