Softball camp attracts number of middle school players
By TIM GAYLE
Approximately two dozen participants braved the humid conditions on Friday to participate in the Montgomery Softball Skills Camp at Jeff Davis, an event designed to promote softball fundamentals to middle school age girls, but open to anyone who wanted instruction on the game of softball.
“I’m extremely pleased, given the circumstances with the weather,” said camp organizer David Thomas. “It rained all day yesterday and last night. It was very dismal this morning but after getting out flyers and talking to instructors, I’m pleased with the group we had. Of course, it would have been more exciting to have a lot more but it was better to have this number than no number.”
The camp is free and open to any young perspective softball players, but primarily targets those in grades six through eight.
“You learn more techniques so you can push yourself harder in softball,” said Ja’myrie Major, who is about to enter the ninth grade at Robert E. Lee. “Today, I’ve learned some techniques that I never thought I would learn. They give you good techniques to stay in front of the ball, how to throw. It’s a very exciting experience.”
Selma High softball coach Adrian McLendon was one of the instructors at Friday’s camp and spent a lot of his time refining the hitting and fielding of the middle school and elementary school players.
“Any time it comes to helping out the kids, especially in sports, I’m there,” McLendon said. “I love it. I feel like I’m a kid myself sometimes. Especially me knowing the game, why not give back and teach the young ones how to be great? And it’s not only about sports, it’s teaching life lessons as well.”
As the players worked out in the batting cages at Jeff Davis, one of the groups rotated through a station concentrating on bunting, an aspect of the game many of the younger players had never encountered.
“I’ve bunted before I came to this camp, but I’ve never really had a lot of practice on it,” Major said. “Today was the first day I’ve gotten a full practice on bunting.”
Former Catholic standout Nikki Walker, now at South Alabama, traveled from Mobile to work at the camp and said one of her favorite groups was the elementary school-age participants who know little about the sport.
“I really enjoyed teaching the little ones because I feel like those are the ones that want to learn the most, just because they don’t know anything,” Walker said. “I think it’s good to help the little girls who are coming up because I think there’s going to be a big gap (in talent) from the graduating class in 2022 and the little kids. There are a lot of little kids interested in playing sports, but social media is big for kids right now so I feel like that’s what they focus on more. So it was good to get them out here so they can work at it and maybe figure out they like softball.”
The group took a break for lunch, where volunteers that included veteran educator Connie Dacus was there to supply the players food and encouragement.
“I’m just happy to be a part of it,” she said. “I taught physical education and taught people how to teach it. And one of the things that middle school folks used to tell us all the time is ‘what are you teaching these skills in elementary school? They don’t have any skills. They don’t know how to catch, they don’t know how to throw,’ so the camp is really about an opportunity for kids to find out what their skill set is and for us to work with them.
“It also builds relationships. A lot of the kids came out and said, ‘I don’t know anybody.’ So this is a first-time thing for us, but we hope it will become something consistent because it is so needed. I think we need more and more camps like this in different sports so kids can find out what they like and start working on those skills.”
The baseball and softball camps will move this weekend to G.W. Carver High and is free to anyone. For more information, contact Thomas at dlthomas1531@charter.net.