Bobcats look forward to hosting baseball camp

By Shawn Wansley JCJC Sports Information Director

ELLISVILLE October 07, 2008 10:31 am

First-year Jones County Junior College head baseball coach Christian Ostrander is trying to get more people interested in his program.
One of the ways he is doing that is by implementing the first JCJC Fall League Baseball Camp.
“The fall camp will start after our fall schedule ends,” said Ostrander. “It goes for a three-week period. The numbers will determine how many nights a week we will play. I think we will play at least three nights a week, maybe four.”
The camp will be for players in grades 9-12 and will run from Oct. 27 through Nov. 13. Cost is $125 per player. Each team will consist of no more than 12 players so plenty of playing time can be guaranteed for each athlete. The camp will be limited to 96 players.
“My hopes for the camp will be to get as many upperclassmen from our district and our area as we can to our campus,” said Ostrander. “ We are looking at this year’s seniors closely. I got here so late in the summer I did not get a chance to see many of them.
“It will be a chance for me to get just a little bit of evaluation before next February. We have had some interest from some seniors who want to come to the camp for that reason. And, we have younger players all the way down to ninth-graders, who are wanting to come to get some experience, too.”
In addition to the main camp, there will be a one-day camp on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 4:30-7 p.m. at Bobcat Field. This will be a time for the players involved in the camp to receive first-hand instruction from the JCJC coaching staff and players.
“This will be a great opportunity to get some guys on this campus and see what we are doing,” said Ostrander. “They can get a good feel about Jones baseball. If they attend this camp as a ninth-grader, they may leave with the feeling of, ‘Hey, I would like to play there someday.’
“So, it’s about evaluating this year’s seniors and creating interest for underclassmen.”
Ostrander said the overall fall camp would be about teaching and instructing the campers.
“We will have instruction within the games,” he said. “Two teams might be playing, while two other teams will be getting some other type of instruction. It’s mainly about games and competition, but instruction will be mixed in with it.”
For more information about the JCJC Fall Baseball Camp, call the baseball office at 601-477-4088.

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Photos


Freshman pitcher Tyler Martin (left) of Gulfport HIgh School asks JCJC head baseball coach Christian Ostrander a question during a scrimmage session last month.