This past school holidays, Baseball NSW in collaboration with the Sydney Blue Sox and RBI Australia, ran two awesome junior development camps for our members!
The first camp welcomed players aged 6-15 across the Rookie Stars, Junior Sox and High-Performance Prep ages. Meanwhile, the female-focused camp in Week 2 saw players aged 8-17 and divided them into two defined age categories: the Future Flames (8-12 years old) and Rising Prospects (13-17 years old).
During both camps, every participant had a lot of fun and made lasting friendships through shared practice and activities where they learned valuable baseball skills.
“We had a really good turnout; 58 kids showed up,” said Blue Sox player Mitch Austin regarding Week 1’s camp. Likewise, he expressed gratitude to both RBI Australia, who provided the coaches at the camps, and for Baseball NSW for helping to host the events at BISP.
On the first day, the kids underwent a lot of testing, per Austin. The testing included constructive feedback for the participants, which helped them get on the right track and learn the basic skills required for the sport before stepping onto the field.
“They can have feedback and also have something to work towards,” added Austin.
Moreover, the coaches divided the kids into groups of differentiated skills, where they can join other kids with similar levels of skills or skillsets.
Part of their training was hitting, which included bounce drills, lessons on how to hit off-speed pitches, and “some inside-outside fastball work.” According to Austin, they wanted the kids to focus on one particular location at bat.
The coaches also worked with the infielders and drilled them on the 6 Fs meant to help them internalize the fundamentals of fielding.
“On the whole, it’s been a really good time, and I really appreciate Baseball New South Wales for hosting,” Austin said.
Thirteen girls also joined the Future Flames and Rising Prospects camps, where they underwent many of the same fun drills and learned lessons on the basics of the sport. It’s easy to say they won’t forget the camp anytime soon for the fun they had and the friends they made.
As these holiday camps come to a close, Baseball NSW thank their partners in running these camps and encourage people to keep an eye out on the release summer camp dates very soon. Stay updated through the Baseball NSW, Sydney Blue Sox and RBI Australia official media channels & website!
Photo credit: Mick G Photography