PHOTO COURTESY COLTON MCKEE MEDICINE HAT MAVERICKS
Medicine Hat Mavericks owner and general manager Greg Morrison leads the Viterra Kids Camp through warmup stretch Monday at the WCBL's inaugural kids camp.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The future of baseball added more skills to their toolbox Monday at Athletic Park.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks hosted the inaugural Viterra Kids Camp ahead of their contest against the Brooks Bombers. The camp, a new Western Canadian Baseball League initiative, was geared toward introducing skills and the basics of baseball.
Mavs head coach Kevin Mitchell says it’s an honour and privilege for them to host camps like this and have that one-on-one interaction with the community that cheers them on each night.
“It’s such a give and take, and our guys understand that, yes, it means a bunch to the community but it means a lot to these kids,” Mitchell said. “To be a part of that, it’s a privilege and an honour to do that kind of stuff, to have a platform and to be part of a community. I don’t think they take that for granted.
“It’s awesome all the stuff the Mavs do within Medicine Hat for the kids. It means a lot to the community and it means a lot to the team.”
All 10 WCBL teams took part in the initiative with the camps starting July 3 in Weyburn and the final one running July 17 at Fort McMurray. There was a camp held in Spruce Grove with the Edmonton Prospects, a large baseball market that only didn’t participate in the 2023 WCBL season due to the building of a new stadium.
Garrett Nicholson was one of the Mavs who helped coach in the camp and says he enjoyed getting to share a little baseball knowledge while having some fun.
“It’s always good to be able to help out the younger generation, teaching them things I was taught growing up,” Nicholson said. “It’s a lot of fun and good to see them with a smile on their face and just how much they appreciate us coming out to help them and make them better.”
While the left-handed pitcher didn’t divulge any information on his slider, he says he focused on relaying the basics of pitching and how to stay healthy.
“I was teaching them a little bit of mechanics and just trying to be fundamentally sound,” Nicholson said. “Try to help them when they get older and stronger and just kind of prevent some of those injuries.”
The Mavericks are holding a second camp this week, the Mini Mav camp and barbecue this afternoon at Athletic Park. The camp is for those who have signed up as Mini Mavericks and runs from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Medicine Hat (16-22) hosts the Weyburn Beavers (8-27) afterwards for a 7:05 p.m. contest.
