Baseball clinic puts fun back in fundamentals
Two dozen turn out for first annual event
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam The clinic let kids try their hand at becoming the next Andruw Jones.

Coaches and players from the Panthers varsity baseball team held a children's baseball clinic at Meeks Park Saturday, raising money for the team while allowing youngsters the chance to have some fun and develop their skills. The event was put together by the Diamond Club and was sponsored by United Community Bank.

"It's a fund raiser for us, but its also to give back to the community a little bit and work with some of these little guys," Panthers Head Coach Robby Roxbury said. "If anything [we wanted] to just give them a start before their season begins, have some fun, and see some things that we do."

While the kids seemed to enjoy the opportunity to spend time with and learn from the high school team, Coach Roxbury said that he believed his players got as much out of it as the younger children did. "I think my guys enjoyed it even more than the kids did," the coach said. "They got to coach it and every one of them said they had fun."

The children were separated into multiple groups, allowing them to work on a position of their choosing, whether it be infield, outfield, pitcher, or catcher. The basic drills included fielding ground balls, snag- ging fly balls, practicing relay throws, and much more.

The coaches, players, and kids pose for a photo during the clinic. Sentinel photos/Jared Putnam

"We just tried to cover every aspect of the game," Coach Roxbury said. "We did everything we do in a practice."

While the fundamentals were the focus, the kids were also able to practice some of the less routine plays, such as getting their glove over the fence to rob a homerun.

"We actually practice getting over the fence for a foul ball and its like one time a season, so its not like we work on it every week, but I think they have to have the idea of how to do it.

"Last year Kody Owenby robbed a homerun from Buford. He had his timing down and picked it. It may not ever happen with the little guys, but if they watch Andruw Jones they dream of getting up on the wall [to make that catch]."

The kids work on fielding ground balls.