By Harrison Tarr
For the Observer
BEAUREGARD ––
Summertime has officially arrived in eastern Alabama; temperatures have begun to reach the mid-90s, pools are fully operational everywhere and children are out of school until August. For many of these excited youngsters, summer break is an opportunity to relax and unwind from a jam-packed school year.
For several 7- through 12-year-olds in the Beauregard and Opelika communities, the months of June and July will be full of no such thing; this summer is about perfecting their craft on the baseball diamond, a journey which began at Beauregard High School’s annual baseball camp on May 30. The group of young talent had a week full of fundamental baseball and plenty of fun.
“It was a ball,” said Beauregard head coach Seth Nolen. “We had 51 kids from the Beauregard-Opelika area. We talked a lot of ball and we learned a lot. The kids had a ball, my players had a ball running it, it was great.”
Nolen noted that — although the group didn’t forget to enjoy themselves — the camp’s mission was to develop their future athletes from a fundamental standpoint.
“It’s only a week and it’s kind of just basic baseball skills,” Nolen said. “We talk about how to field a ground ball, we talk about the triangle, how to field the ball out front. We talk about how to throw and catch at a high rate.”
According to Nolen, the approach is similar to that which he takes with his varsity group each spring and the results are equally as enjoyable to observe.
“It’s the same thing with the high school guys and the middle school guys, the guys I’m with in the spring,” Nolen said. “When you’re doing something and a kid is working, and then all of a sudden he figures it out. He figures out what you’re trying to get him to do or he figures out a better way to do what he was doing.”
The coach noted that there is no greater feeling than watching a young mind absorb and comprehend what they’re actively trying to learn.
“They’ll look at you,” Nolen said. “There’s this look of like ‘oh, I get it now, I understand’. I’m sure it’s the same for a math teacher or a history teacher or a mom and dad trying to teach their kid how to tie their shoes, that kind of stuff. You get that look of ‘oh, I get it now.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
While the camp is certainly geared towards fundamentals, the Hornet program continues to place emphasis on developing themselves not just as ball players, but as leaders.
“We talk about it all the time amongst ourselves and on the team,” Nolen said. “We talk about being a team leader, older guys showing younger guys how to do things and bringing them along and all that.”
Nolen emphasized that the summer training session is a perfect opportunity to develop a leadership style based on the examples set by the current high-school players.
“When it’s your peer, when it’s someone that’s your same age or a year younger, sometimes it’s hard to look at this kid that’s in the same group as a leader sometimes,” Nolen said. “But when the older guys are teaching the younger kids and the younger guys are hanging on every word they say, it gives them a better understanding of how to lead.”
The head coach was sure to note that the camp is not just designed for the betterment of the youth, but for the personal development of his current group.
“It helps my players figure out how to relate to each other, be a better teammate and a better leader,” Nolen said. “It also shows younger kids a little bit of what it’s going to be like when they’re at the high school setting.”
With camp officially at its conclusion, the 50-plus young men who attended are sure to have left with a sharper set of skills, a greater appreciation for the game, new friendships and a smile from ear to ear.