With dusty cleats, wide-eyed determination and gloves a little too big for their hands, children from across the community gathered this week to learn the game of baseball. 

Hosted at City Pond Park, the Youth Baseball Camp ran from June 9-10.

Newton County Parks and Recreation welcomed 41 players to the fields. The ages ranged from five to twelve. With a fee of $50 for this two-day camp, young athletes had a chance to gain better experience and knowledge of America’s favorite pastime. 

The camp was led by Cody Walker as the head coach. Walker coached in Putnam County for three years. Then, he was the head baseball coach at Eastside High School for the past three years before recently resigning. 

”[This camp is] just kids getting together to do something they love,” Walker said. “Kids get to meet other kids they may not know prior but walk away as friends with better knowledge about the game. It gives the chance for a number of kids from all different backgrounds to get together for a common interest that can impact their future.”   

The camp’s focus was geared towards community engagement.  It was a chance to teach young players about the basics of baseball, while also pitching in some summer fun. 

The campers would learn different skills with hands-on instruction, team-building activities and plenty of on-field excitement. As the kids arrived each day, they would break into two groups, go through warm-ups and break off to do stations. 

The overall aspect was learning the fundamentals. Then, at the end of each day, they would incorporate what they learned into one big game before heading home.

Day one of the camp, the coaches broke it down to the basics of throwing and catching. Then, on day two, the campers stepped up to the plate to work on base running and the basics of making contact when hitting. 

For many kids, it is a summer highlight but also a chance to grow both on and off the field.

The role of the camp in the community was to get kids excited about the sport they love. They have a chance, while out of school, to get out, socialize and soak up the sunshine. On top of acquiring some more skills and coordination, they also get to make some new friends along the way.  

“[The kids gained] a lot of growth about the knowledge of the game which is good because now they know what to work on, on their own,” Walker said.