Ricardo Valerdi, PhD: Bringing Math to Life Through the Science of Sport

In 2013, Dr. Ricardo Valerdi ’00, a proud electrical engineering alumnus of the University of San Diego (USD), had a radical idea: what if we used the universal language of sports to teach kids math?

At the time, Valerdi was well into his academic career as a professor of systems and industrial engineering at the University of Arizona. But he saw a gap — particularly in how math was taught to primary- and middle-school students. Too often, math felt disconnected from students' lives. He realized that if young learners could see how math applied to something they loved — like sports — they might actually become excited to learn it.

So, he founded Science of Sport, a nonprofit organization dedicated to using athletics as a gateway to STEM education. The idea began humbly: he wanted to help kids understand the stats on the backs of baseball cards. What started as a one-day Saturday camp in Arizona quickly gained traction. The response was overwhelming. Children were hooked. Parents were grateful. Teachers were intrigued.

Thanks to a connection through USD, Valerdi was introduced to Ballard Smith, former president of the San Diego Padres. Smith immediately saw the potential and helped connect Science of Sport to the Padres organization and Major League Baseball more broadly. That partnership opened doors — and dugouts. In fact, Smith was so taken with the model that he became the first executive director of the organization.

“I spent many years of my life around professional sports, but what drew me to Science of Sport was the chance to use that world to make a real difference in kids’ lives. When I saw how the program could turn math anxiety into excitement — how it could shift a child’s entire relationship with learning — I knew I had to be a part of it. And Ricardo’s enthusiasm was very contagious,” Smith stated. Soon, other Major League Baseball (MLB) teams began to take notice. What began as a grassroots camp evolved into a national movement. Today, 12 of the 30 MLB teams — from the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angeles Dodgers — integrate the Science of Sport curriculum into their local elementary and middle schools and into player development academies. The impact has expanded beyond baseball — the organization also now has partnerships with the NFL’s Cowboys, Eagles and Broncos; NBA’s Spurs, Knicks and Mavericks; NHL’s Kings and Sharks and other professional sports networks to include other sports in the curricula.

The goal is not to churn out the next generation of professional athletes. Instead, the aim is far more ambitious: to transform the way young students experience and understand math. The curriculum shows students how algebra, statistics, geometry and data analysis are essential to sports performance — whether you’re calculating batting averages or understanding shot trajectories. By rooting abstract concepts in the excitement of sports, Science of Sport helps students reframe how they see themselves as learners.

“These aren’t just math problems,” says Valerdi. “These are opportunities to see the world through a different lens. This new perspective is intended for kids to see math come to life.”

And it’s working. Students who once believed they were “bad at math” are suddenly thriving, because the context makes sense to them. By linking their passions with the classroom, the program gives students a sense of agency and belonging within a subject that often feels intimidating. To date, more than 600,000 students have participated in Science of Sport programs, and the expansion is continuing into new cities across the U.S.

In addition to youth programming, Science of Sport offers free professional development for teachers at MLB ballparks. These sessions equip educators with tools to connect STEM concepts to sports, helping them engage students more effectively and creatively, and gives them the opportunity to learn about the history of baseball in their cities. As a bonus, these programs also tend to turn kids into lifelong sports fans — which isn’t exactly the worst outcome for the teams involved.

Now more than a decade in, Science of Sport continues to grow, with a mission that’s both simple and profound: make math matter and make it fun. For Ricardo Valerdi, it’s not just about numbers. It’s about changing narratives — one stat, one student and one game at a time.

— By Elisa Lurkis