By Maddie Joiner
For the Opelika Observer
Calling all baseball stars ages 6-12. Opelika High School is hosting its annual youth baseball camp July 26-28 and sign-ups are still ongoing. The three-day camp will be at Opelika High School and will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., daily.
With a registration fee of $75, campers will receive an OHS baseball camp t-shirt. Snacks and water will be provided daily for campers.
“It’s just a three-day event that will cover all the skills of baseball and play around and have a good time,” said Zach Blatt, Opelika High head baseball coach.
The youth camp is usually held in June, but due to scheduling issues Blatt moved the camp to late July and is marketing it as a “Back to School Baseball Camp”.
“We decided to do it in July this year, as kind of a back to school camp, just to give the kids an opportunity to come to this right before school gets back,” Blatt said.
The camp will be run by Blatt and his coaching staff, as well as the varsity and junior varsity players.
Blatt said there is no limit on registration and parents can preregister their child by visiting the OHS baseball twitter @BaseballOpelika. There parents will find a Google form for registration. Payment can be made via cash or check and will be due on the first day of camp, July 26. Day-of registration is also available.
Blatt said he and his staff are hoping for a large crowd because they love the opportunity to coach young children.
“I just think it’s a great opportunity for those young kids to come and interact with our varsity and junior varsity baseball players,” he said. “It gives them an opportunity to build some relationships with those young kids that, eventually down the road, will be playing on the same field as these guys.”
Opelika High has been doing a youth baseball camp for years before Blatt became head coach, but he said the school decided on a youth camp to build interest in baseball in the Opelika community.
Opelika High is located at 1700 Bulldog Parkway in Opelika and the baseball faculties are located by the sports arena.