More than 100 players turn out for first Kincardine Baseball Camp

Organizers were thrilled to welcome 108 youth, ages seven to 15, at the first Kincardine Baseball Camp, held Wednesday and Thursday at Connaught Park.

Jay Bell, president of Kincardine Minor Ball, said baseball is gaining in popularity in Kincardine, so hosting this event was a natural progression, based on the increase in baseball players with the organization.

He said two years ago, there were 140 players; last year, there were about 200; and this season, there are 265 players.

The baseball camp is a spin-off of the one started by Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb in Clinton four years ago. After three successful, sold-out camps there, he decided to expand the camp to Kincardine this summer.

Lobb's goal is to help foster baseball growth in Huron-Bruce, and make the camp affordable so all youth can participate. No stranger to the game, he grew up playing baseball in Clinton while attending Central Huron Secondary School. After graduation, he went to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, on a baseball scholarship.

Bell remembers playing Lobb when they were both in minor ball.

"As I recall, Kincardine was usually on the winning side," said Bell. "I've been bugging Ben for a couple of years now to bring the baseball camp to Kincardine."

Joining Lobb at the camp, were Mark Brew of Cleveland, Tennessee, head coach for the NCAA, who coached Lobb during his college years; and Bret Saberhagen, former starting pitcher with the Kansas City Royals of the Major Baseball League.

"Bret is great with the kids," said Bell. "He's always got them moving, and he's good with one-on-one as well."

For Saberhagen, coming to Kincardine was like a breath of fresh air, since he rarely gets outside of Toronto during his visits to Canada.

"It's great to be here," he said. "And yes, it's hot here today, but it's not hot to me, I'm from California. In fact, I just came here from Myrtle Beach."

Having worked with youth at the Clinton Baseball Camp Monday and Tuesday, Saberhagen said his goal is simply to not mess up the game for the kids.

"I'm trying to give them some good advice," he said. "The older ones understand and they can help the younger kids. If they can take away one or two things that will help them with their game, that's great."

Saberhagen said the baseball camp has good instructors and the Kincardine facilities are top-notch. "These kids are getting some good basics here."

He said the fact that the Blue Jays are doing so well this season could be the reason for the increased popularity of baseball in Kincardine.

"But it's good for kids to play more than one sport," he said. "A lot of the kids here also play hockey which is great."

Brew said he loves it in Kincardine. "There's a lot of space here for the kids to train and perform. It's wonderful that the community has provided these great facilities."

Lobb said there were 135 youth at the Clinton baseball camp. At the Kincardine camp, there were players from Kincardine, Port Elgin, Southampton, Ripley, Paisley, Chesley, and Tiverton.

"We have great sponsors which helps us keep the cost affordable," he said. "It's $60 for the two-day camp, including lunch both days."

Wednesday, was the day for offensive and defensive drills, while Thursday was a live game between two teams with the players trying out the skills they had learned.