Maumee baseball welcomes youth players for annual one-day camp

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

The crack of the bat and sounds of baseballs snapping into gloves filled the gymnasiums at Maumee High School last weekend as the Panthers hosted their youth baseball clinic for kids in grades 1 through 8.

“It’s all about making early connections with these kids,” Maumee baseball coach Todd Ery said. “We want to give them some positive memories of what Maumee baseball is all about. They go home, they have a good experience and they think positive things about it. Down the road, we hope they try out for the program when they’re freshmen and they can help us contribute down the road.”

According to Ery, there were around 80 kids signed up for Saturday’s camp. The ages were split into two groups, with grades 1-4 camping in the morning and grades 5-8 in the afternoon.

Each group got two hours for camp, and while Ery admitted that’s not a lot of time, the camp gave the players a good taste of working with Maumee baseball coaches and players.

“We’re trying to stuff a lot into two hours,” Ery said. “It’s the basic fundamentals of throwing technique, getting the gloves down and being in a good athletic position defensively, teaching them some base running, and then we get into the annex gym and get to take some swings with them.

“We don’t have a whole lot of time, so we’re trying to break things down and give them some good ground work, a good foundation to build off of when they go and play their summer Maumee Little League or wherever they go.”

Click the photo for more from the Youth Baseball Camp at Maumee H.S. / Jeremy Schneider

In addition to coaches on Ery’s staff — varsity assistant Nick Berry and JV coaches Buzz Rothenbuhler and Will Eversole were there — members of the Panthers high school program worked with the campers in drills.

Ery said having his players help with the camp gives them a trip down memory lane and reminds them why they fell in love with baseball in the first place.

“You get to the high school varsity level and there’s more pressure and emphasis on winning, but at the end of the day, you want to remember why we do this,” Ery said. “It’s the joy of being a kid and playing and reinstilling some of those feelings in our players.

“I get parents who reach out and express the joy and the gratitude that their child was able to come and have a really great day and come home smiling, and I make sure to let our guys know they’re a really big part of that.”

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com