EASTHAM – In the depths of a Cape Cod winter that may never end, imagine baseball.
Inside the Nauset Regional High Gymnasium, with a Bob Marley quote (“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”) on the wall, 25 kids were imagining baseball in a very real way this week. They were working on skills with Nauset High baseball coach Lou Elia, and four of his players.
Nauset High baseball coach Lou Elia: “If you love baseball, this is awesome.”
“We take our baseball very seriously,” said Elia after the Thursday session of the February Vacation Baseball Clinic. And then he smiled and said, “If you love baseball, this is awesome.”
The clinic, put on by the Brewster Regional Little League, was about more than just optimism. It was about preparation.
Players in the six-town Brewster Regional Little League will soon be holding formal evaluations of players, and then a draft. For more information on signing up, see Brewster Little League.
So this week, players paid $5 a day to be taught by Elia and some of his varsity players.
While the clinic is a good way to get kids to move their focus from winter sports to spring sports, it is limited by its indoor nature, and the various age levels of the players. One tool that Elia used for batting practice was a “smush ball,” said Elia. “You don’t have to worry about a young kid getting hurt.”
After the clinic, Stacy Beach of Orleans said she brought her two children to the clinic because they both love baseball, and getting a chance to work with Elia would help them. “This is easy,” she said. “This is a no-brainer.”
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— Brian Tarcy
