This past July, kids ages 7-15 had the opportunity to spend most of a week polishing their baseball skills while enjoying their break from school. The opportunity came courtesy of the South Sound Diamond Skills Baseball Camp held at Mt. Rainier High School by the City of Des Moines Parks & Recreation.
Campers were broken into two groups, the Line Drive Division (ages 7-11) and the Big Fly Division (ages 12-15). Each group met separately and focused on age-appropriate skills.
The camp was headed up by director Nic Lind from Des Moines Parks & Recreation, an experienced coach and semi-pro baseball player. Additional staff included lead instructor Brandon Newell, Northwest Regional Scouting Supervisor for the Milwaukee Brewers, as well as Darren Rawie, Varsity Head Coach from Mt. Rainier High School and Hal DeBerry, Varsity Head Coach from Newport High.
The coaches were assisted by seven Mt. Rainier baseball players: Loren Gardner-Young, Gio Bonifacio, Taylor Goucher, Kevin Smith, Josh Potter, Jesus Esqueda, and Jeff Larabee.
This year’s baseball camp had 50 attendees split between the two age groups. Nic says he’d like to see that number double for next year.
At the end of their four days, campers put their skills to work in a baseball game and enjoyed prizes and give-aways courtesy of the Seattle Mariners. The coaching staff made the following award selections:
- Coaches Award – Dominic Terrana/Line Drive
- Gold Glove Award for Best Fielder – Sam Maitland/Big Fly, Nathan Vasquez/Line Drive
- Charlie Hustle Award for Work Ethic – Andy Beal/Line Drive, Emmitt Sevores/Line Drive
- MVP Mr. Big Fly – Brogan Meyers
- MVP Mr. Line Drive – Colin Meyers
Photographer Michael Brunk stopped by the camp during the last practice session of the Line Drive Division and put together the following slideshow.
Click to Play Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow
