Year 18 (WOW!) of Spring Training Baseball Camp wrapped on Friday and it was the best Summer ever!
From the 1st pitch of Week 1 to the last kid down the slip n slide in Week 10, Spring Training campers showed up to the field every day with a ton of energy, the motivation to work on new skills, and the desire to learn how to be great teammates. And most importantly, they had FUN! I end all my weekly "Welcome to Baseball Camp" emails saying that my goal is for every player to walk off the field each Friday completely in love with Baseball. Mission Accomplished!
Youth sports across America has largely lost its way in recent years with too many adults caring much more about winning at all costs, personal accolades for their children, and worrying about getting to the next level rather than just allowing kids to enjoy sports for the simplest of reasons: because they are fun.
It filled my emotional tank all summer long to be around so many kids having a ton of fun on the field, totally free from pressure, anxiety, or results-based expectations. Aside from playing with milk cartons in a sugar cane field in the Dominican Republic, Summer Camp is baseball in its purest form.
The lessons they learned with us about effort, attitude, motivation, teamwork, and playing with joy absolutely translates to whatever Fall and Winter sports they're playing, and I hope they take the camp motto with them to their next sports endeavor...PLAY HARD, HAVE FUN!
(And as I always tell the kids; the teams that have the most fun playing hard, supporting each other, and respecting the game are also usually the teams that win the most too!)
If your ballplayer is playing football, soccer, water polo, or whatever this fall; that's awesome! I'm a HUGE believer in being a multi-sport athlete. In fact, my own baseball-obsessed almost 8 year old son will be playing flag football, soccer, and basketball this Fall and Winter...no baseball for him until January!
If your ballplayer is playing baseball this fall, please please please be aware of how much throwing they're doing! Tournaments that feature 3-5 games in a weekend are extremely dangerous (especially for pitchers) if coaches/adults aren't closely monitoring pitch counts, throwing workload, and rest. And yes, I know "rest" is basically impossible in these tournaments, which is a big reason why I believe Travel/Club Baseball can often do way more harm than good (but that's a topic for another blog😁).
Whatever your athlete is doing this Fall, I hope they Play Hard and Have Fun, and I can't wait to see everyone back on the field for Summer Camp 2023 (or sooner)!