ROCKINGHAM — The first of several summer camps at Richmond Senior High School got underway this week.
Returning for the first time since 2019, the Richmond Raider baseball program kicked off its Little Raiders camp. Nearly 50 participants from kindergarten through fifth grade signed up for the three-day development camp.
“I’m really happy with the turnout, I didn’t really know what to expect when we brought camp back after four years,” Brown said.
“Obviously, there is a passion for baseball in this county and that’s great. Getting these kids involved in the game hopefully leads to them wanting to keep playing.”
Brown, along with Richmond assistant coaches Anthony Hailey and Andy Shuler, led campers through a series of stretching, throwing and catching exercises, which were followed by several stations.
Campers played wiffle ball, worked on hand-eye coordination by hitting tennis balls with rackets, fielded ground balls and threw to first base and worked on hitting and tee drills in the batting cage.
At the end of Thursday’s session, helmets were put on top of buckets and groups competed in a relay race. Each member was required to throw a baseball and knock the helmet off in order to win.
The second day of camp was completed with a trip around the bases, which featured a lot of smiles and laughing, which Brown noted is the whole point of camp.
“The biggest thing with this age group is we want them to have fun,” Brown commented. “There are some older kids who we’ve been a little more technical with as far as fundamentals. We want all of the kids to enjoy being on the field and playing baseball.”
The Little Raiders camp also served as an opportunity for some of Richmond’s baseball players to give back to the community, something Brown said is an important part of being a member of the program.
Getting their own group of campers to coach were rising seniors Riley Brown and Conner Phifer, rising junior Colton Brown and rising sophomores Drew Gause, Steve James and Jakob Trexler.
“It’s good for our players because I told them I learned more about baseball when I was teaching it than when I was playing,” Brown said. “They’ve been great with the kids and kept things light.
“This is an experience that will help all of them in the long run, whether it’s while playing the game or they end up coaching,” he closed. “It also helps with their communication because it’s a little different talking to a six year old instead of a teammate.”
The Little Raiders camp will wrap up Friday, complete with more fundamental drills and a few water-themed activities.
Richmond’s three-day Future Raiders camp for middle school-aged players is set to begin Monday at 9 a.m.
Below are photos of Thursday’s camp, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
