LAURINBURG — St. Andrews University completed its first youth baseball camp this week, and more clinics are scheduled for later in the summer.
Knights baseball coach Drew Roberts and recruiting coordinator Andy Fox, in conjunction with the U.S. Baseball Academy, wrapped up a four-day camp Thursday that saw around a dozen kids participate in hitting, pitching, fielding, and baserunning drills.
“We definitely had some guys who got better,” Roberts said. “Overall, it went well and they all had a good time.”
The camps were set up in different sessions, and kids could sign up for every session or pick and choose which ones they wanted to attend. This year’s participants were generally in grades 4-6.
Fox oversaw the kids during the pitching drills and had them work on throwing routines, building pitches and proper mechanics.
“We’ve worked on two-seam fastballs, four-seam fastballs, changeup grips and pickoffs at first and second base,” he said.
Roberts dealt more with the hitting and fielding side of things this week. He also helped teach the kids proper baserunning techniques, and brought them to the batting cages to work on their cuts at the plate. Roberts mentioned that a few of the kids who are already on travel teams could handle more advanced techniques, but generally all of them needed work on the basics.
“Primarily, it’s just basic fundamentals,” Roberts said. “Keeping your head down on the ball, foot placement, stride and the contact point.”
The staff integrated a point system in each of the drills so the kids would have goals to aim for, and introduced various nuances to each session over the four-day period to keep the workouts fresh.
“We generally do something new everyday,” Roberts said. “We might go over it again, then once we do that and refresh it, then we’ll go on to something new.”
St. Andrews recently started hosting baseball camps on its campus, but Roberts has traveled within the state and around the southeast the past few years to host similar skill-building workshops.
On July 20, Roberts will lead a one-day hitting camp that will take place between 2-6 p.m. and cost $84. A second four-day camp, from July 21-24, offers an overnight option for $395 that allows participants to stay in the dorms.
Classes are available for players in grades 1-12 and are limited to six players per coach. The cost to attend is $99. For information, contact Roberts at 910-277-5276 or [email protected].
“My main goal, no matter what camp I do, at that age if they can leave and go home and learn one thing, that is a success,” Roberts said. “Hopefully they learn a new thing in each session.”
Logan Martinez can be reached at 910-506-3170. Follow him on Twitter @L_Martinez13.