To the delight of seemingly everyone involved, former President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on Wednesday afternoon.

At the after-school program’s outdoor activities in Fort Dupont, Obama passed out high fives and words of encouragement, and still made time to hit a double in a game of softball.

“One pitch and he hit it,” said Tal Alter, the Youth Academy’s executive director. “If he had to give the highlight of his time there, it might have been that.”

The academy’s staff were alerted on Monday that Obama might make an appearance, but the kids were completely unaware. Alter describes the mood once he arrived as “unencumbered excitement.” (See for yourself in the video below—one boy runs full speed screaming “Barack Obama! Barack Obama!”)

“I think a lot of adults probably felt similarly, but held themselves together a bit more,” says Alter.

The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, affiliated with the major league team, offers baseball and softball coaching for more than a hundred D.C. kids in grades three through eight. Apart from sports, the academy also provides kids with academic support and education about healthy eating. The former president picked up a bag of groceries from the academy’s fresh produce market.

“If you guys work hard, work hard in school and listen to your coaches, you guys are gonna do great things,” he said to the group before his time was through. “ I’m going to be on the lookout for you, because I think you’re going to do something important. You guys are gonna make a real difference. We’re gonna be really proud of you.”

Obama visits the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy from DCist on Vimeo.