Sports
Mineola 9/10 Summer Baseball Puts on Hitting Clinic
Young players participate in Pitch, Hit and Run contest.
On August 4, under the high summer sun, players from the Mineola 9/10 Summer Baseball team took turns in a friendly competition against each other in a “pitch, hit and run” contest at the Fields.
This competition, based on the national competition of the same name, challenged the players in pitching accuracy, hitting distance/accuracy as well as speed on the base paths. In a very tight race, Zach Bongiovanni prevailed as the team champion, placing first in the hit and run competition. Patrick Solosky was the pitching champion and placed second overall.
The clinic continued with the return of Coach Edward Proctor, the Kellenberg Memorial High School JV Baseball Coach, who instructed led the team on a series of skills stations that included pitching, throwing, bunting and handling the difficult “rundown.”
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The boys enjoy the Coach Proctor’s various clinics and demonstrated their new skills by laying down bunts and every player was challenged to lead the team in a “rundown.”
The day ended with a summer barbeque at . For the past 2 years, the Mineola Knights of Columbus have shared their annual summer barbeque with teams of the Mineola Summer Baseball Program. After enjoying hot dogs, hamburgers and salads, the boys participated in a baseball game, volleyball game, free throw contest and running bases. Every player won an award in the contests, having fun in the process.
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When the heat became too oppressive, the team headed to the for a cool down swim, completing the total summer experience with baseball, barbeques and swimming.
The Mineola Summer baseball team is a developmental team that stresses fun and learning. Players are assigned to different positions and challenged to try pitching and catching. The team has weekly clinics with guest instructors that develop their pitching, hitting and fielding skills. The clinics have featured a unique, “catcher’s station” at which an older travel team catcher works with the boys on this unique position. They also feature “guest instructors” that focus on a particular aspect of the game.
