June 14, 2018 | Cleveland, OH Cleveland Rec/ Cleveland Baseball Federation Free Clinic
We celebrated World Softball Day by putting on a free clinic with girls from the Cleveland Baseball Federation/Cleveland Rec Department programs. While the pre-clinic rain kept some of the girls away, we were lucky to have great weather once the clinic started.
Our awesome clinic instructors were:
Brittany (Vanderink) Bakalar- Ohio State, All-American, Head Coach Berkshire HS
Tracee McCoy- University of Akron, Akron Racers (3 yrs), Asst. Coach Marshall, University of Akron
Chandler Rice- University of Toledo, Akron Racers (2017),
Shelbi Tilton - Kent State University, All-MAC.
The clinic started with the players picking out bats and helmets to keep, then the instructors worked on bunting, discussed elements of the softball swing, did stations to work on different parts of the swing and then did soft toss hitting. After hitting the girls got to pick out gloves to keep and all got a new ball. While the players have access to equipment on game days thanks to the generosity of the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Baseball Federation, we believe that it is important that players also have their own equipment so they can practice on their own on a regular basis. The more players practice and improve, the better the chance is that they will want to keep playing. Furthemore, practicing and taking care of your own equipment helps players learn the important life lessons that sports teaches including discipline, perseverance, responsibility and dedication.
We also got to catch up with Coach Tobin (Painesville-Harvey Coach and Cleveland Rec Coach) and meet two new Cleveland Rec Coaches; Coach Evans and Coach Goll who both left with bags of equipment for their teams and their players who did not make the clinic. We also got to meet Rob Anderson, Director of Operations of the Cleveland Baseball Federation and had a special visit from Anthony Eder, Community Impact Coordinator Dir. of the Cleveland Indians who came to see what we do.
Our Stay in Softball volunteers were:
Meghan McKeogh (Cincy Doom), Emily Darlington (Ohio Lasers), Teagan Rice (Cincy Doom), Rachel Ward (Thunder Elite)
Megan Ward (Beverly Bandits), Beady Titus (Thunder Elite), Maddi Long (Ohio Hawks), Abbi Grace (Ohio Ice), McKenzie Anderson (Explosive Fastpitch), Maddy Hufford (Ohio Wolfpack), Kennady Grace (Ohio Ice)
Our awesome clinic instructors were:
Brittany (Vanderink) Bakalar- Ohio State, All-American, Head Coach Berkshire HS
Tracee McCoy- University of Akron, Akron Racers (3 yrs), Asst. Coach Marshall, University of Akron
Chandler Rice- University of Toledo, Akron Racers (2017),
Shelbi Tilton - Kent State University, All-MAC.
The clinic started with the players picking out bats and helmets to keep, then the instructors worked on bunting, discussed elements of the softball swing, did stations to work on different parts of the swing and then did soft toss hitting. After hitting the girls got to pick out gloves to keep and all got a new ball. While the players have access to equipment on game days thanks to the generosity of the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Baseball Federation, we believe that it is important that players also have their own equipment so they can practice on their own on a regular basis. The more players practice and improve, the better the chance is that they will want to keep playing. Furthemore, practicing and taking care of your own equipment helps players learn the important life lessons that sports teaches including discipline, perseverance, responsibility and dedication.
We also got to catch up with Coach Tobin (Painesville-Harvey Coach and Cleveland Rec Coach) and meet two new Cleveland Rec Coaches; Coach Evans and Coach Goll who both left with bags of equipment for their teams and their players who did not make the clinic. We also got to meet Rob Anderson, Director of Operations of the Cleveland Baseball Federation and had a special visit from Anthony Eder, Community Impact Coordinator Dir. of the Cleveland Indians who came to see what we do.
Our Stay in Softball volunteers were:
Meghan McKeogh (Cincy Doom), Emily Darlington (Ohio Lasers), Teagan Rice (Cincy Doom), Rachel Ward (Thunder Elite)
Megan Ward (Beverly Bandits), Beady Titus (Thunder Elite), Maddi Long (Ohio Hawks), Abbi Grace (Ohio Ice), McKenzie Anderson (Explosive Fastpitch), Maddy Hufford (Ohio Wolfpack), Kennady Grace (Ohio Ice)