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EDWARDSVILLE – Like any sport, a strong base of fundamentals in softball will help a player go a long way.
That's one of the goals players in second through ninth grades – especially the younger players – hope to learn during Edwardsville High's softball camp, which held a session Monday afternoon at the EHS softball diamond. Younger participants were taught by the Tiger coaching staff and current and former EHS players in the basics of the game, while older players worked on drills in various aspects of softball to teach them the mental aspect of the game, especially in some situations that could come up during the course of a game.
“We introduced kids to the fundamentals of the game and worked on refining skills,” said Tiger coach Lori Blade. “We taught them what we do in our program, our beliefs and worked on drills that reflected different situations that could come up in a game.
“It's as much a mental aspect of the game as much as a physical one; things can change in a game constantly, even with every pitch. We wanted to give an understanding of the mental side of the game.”
Approximately 110 participants went through various stations and drills at different parts of the day, going through drills that taught various situations in a game, bunting, fielding and other aspects of softball.
“We can't do a camp like this without our staff and players helping us out,” Blade said. “We have many of our former players who come back to the camp and help us teach the game; the current and former players really work well with the kids.
“We've been doing this for 14 years now and for the kids, it's a great way to give back to the community. They do a really good job with it and they really love the game. They serve as good role models for the younger campers and teach them how to play softball really well.”
