Beginning With The Basics

AVON PARK - If anything is for certain, it's the fact that baseball is king in the Heartland.

From T-ball to Dixie ball to high school, the game is played at a high level from the earliest ages on a year-round basis.

But all the success different teams enjoy is directly attributable to learning and playing the game the right way.

The bevy of young talent in the area continued to learn the basics of the game at the 10th annual South Florida Community College baseball camp.

The four-day camp, for youngsters ages 6-12, focused on the fundamentals of hitting, throwing and fielding, and wrapped up on Monday at Panther Field under the watchful eye of veteran SFCC baseball coach Rick Hitt.

"The kids have been hustling in the heat and doing a super job of learning about the game," said Hitt. "This camp is for the younger kids and some of them haven't played that much baseball.

"We run a very positive camp and work with each of the kids on the fundamentals of every facet of the game, from throwing and fielding, to swinging the bats the right way."

With all the varied youth leagues in the Heartland, there are many different styles of coaching.

"It's amazing how many different leagues and different styles we have in the county," Hitt said. "Every coach has own way of teaching the game, and we just want to do our part in helping the development of the talent in the community.

"Our camps are flexible and focus on helping each youngster have fun and improve, no matter what their skill level is."

Helping the youngsters and giving back to the community is important to Hitt, and with this being the 10th year of the camp, he has seen some of his first campers become players for him at South Florida.

"I enjoy these camps so much and to see kids come through and develop their games and go on to have success gives me a lot of satisfaction," said Hitt. "Having the camps in the summer and winter gives our former players the chance to come back and help out, and it gives the kids a chance to learn from, and rub elbows with guys that are professional ball players.

"To see the players come back and help out is like we've come full-circle in life."

The exercise the youngsters get in the four-hour camps is another plus.
"Anything we can do to get the kids outside and active is a good thing," said Hitt. "If they get more motivated to play baseball, that's great, but at least they're involved in physical activity and getting some exercise."

There is another, more intensive camp, for ages 13-18, going on for the next five weeks and there are openings available.

"We go into more detail in that camp and work with the kids on a variety of things," said Hitt. "I enjoy each of these camps and teaching kids the game of baseball is what it's all about."

For more information, call coach Hitt at 863-453-6661, ext. 7036 (in AP and Sebring) or 863-465-5300, ext. 7036 (in Lake Placid) or email hittr@southflorida.edu.