The Republic Tigers baseball team was on the field Saturday — but this time in the role of coaches instead of players. The team hosted a baseball clinic for elementary school players as a fundraiser for the Evan Pullen Scholarship Fund. Sophomore Regan Butterworth organized the event, which drew nearly 60 young players.
“I really wanted to do a good community project, especially baseball,” he says. “I know this camp is good for the future of Republic baseball, and it’s good for the players to teach other kids, too.”
The event raised about $1,200 for the scholarship fund. (Check out the photo gallery.)
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Head coach Howard Quigley says it was good for his players to be put in the role of instructor for a day.
“It’s awesome for them to have to instruct, because then they rethink things in their own mind,” Quigley says. “I remember when I first started coaching, it made me a better baseball player, because you really have to pay attention to the fundamentals and realize that everything counts.
“When you’re instructing a kid on catching a ground ball out here, and they’re not doing one of the phases of catching it, the rest of it falls apart. When you’re instructing it, you can see that more. It gives them a visual image of what they’re doing as well,” Quigley says.
The young players were divided into groups for instruction in hitting, pitching, and infield and outfield defense. They also participated in a hitting competition. Ryder Davis was the winner of the hitting competition among 1st and 2nd graders. Cale Clark won among the 3rd and 4th graders. And Brandon Mackey won the 5th and 6th grade division.
