HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-07-18, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013.Gruber baseball camp sells out in Clinton
Kelly Gruber, World Series
Champion third baseman with the
Toronto Blue Jays, brought his
nationally-renowned baseball camp
to Clinton last week, with a little
help from Huron-Bruce MP Ben
Lobb.
Gruber, who in addition to
winning the World Series in 1992,
was a two-time All-Star, a Gold
Glove winner and a Silver Slugger
winner, first appeared at the Clinton
Raceway on July 7 for a meet and
greet with race-goers before the
camp on July 8-9.
The camp took place at the Clinton
ball diamonds on Beech Street on
Monday, but had to be moved inside
on Tuesday due to threats of poor
weather.
On Tuesday, the camp was spread
between the Regional Equine and
Agricultural Centre of Huron
(REACH) and the Central Huron
Community Complex across the
parking lot.
Lobb first approached organizers
of the Kelly Gruber Silver Slugger
Baseball Camp last year with the
idea of bringing the camp to Clinton,
but with the planning and
organization required, a camp
couldn’t be pulled together for 2012,
so Lobb aimed for 2013.
While Lobb was enthusiastic
about the camp and what it could
mean to the community, Gruber’s
camp, being unfamiliar with the
area, wasn’t convinced that enough
interest would be generated.
“In the beginning, they were
unsure if we would have enough
kids,” Lobb said. “But I knew we
could get enough.” The camp was
sold out for weeks ahead of its date.
With the camp being held in cities
such as Toronto and Halifax, Clinton
is certainly a smaller town than the
camp is used to seeing, Lobb said,
but he knew the interest was there.
The cost, however, concerned him,
saying he wanted to do anything he
could to help bring the cost down.
“My second thought was that the
camp would need to be affordable,”
Lobb said.
A camp such as Gruber’s would
normally cost $125 per child, he
said, so if a family wanted to enroll
two or three children, expenses
would begin to climb.
After extensive fundraising and
thanks to generous donations from
area businesses, Lobb said, he got
the camp’s cost down to $50 per
child.
In addition, Lobb arranged for
lunch to be served to the children
both days, which would help to curb
parents’ costs.
“Really, $25 per day with lunch
provided, that’s a pretty good value,”
Lobb said.
The camp was open to children
ages eight to 17, both boys and girls,
which likely contributed to the camp
selling out, Lobb said.
Participants came to Clinton for
the camp from Huron, Bruce, Perth,
Middlesex and Lambton Counties,
as well as a handful of children who
came from Toronto for the camp.
Since he was elected in 2008,
Lobb said he had always wanted to
give back to Clinton Minor Baseball,
an organization that helped him
greatly in his life.
Lobb grew up playing baseball in
the Clinton system, giving him skills
that eventually led him to play
baseball at a university in Tennessee.
“That was very much a part of
growing up for me,” Lobb said. “Fast
forward to today and I wanted to
give back to baseball in this area.”
What came from the camp, Lobb
said, is that every participant
received hands-on instruction from
Gruber.
“Every kid had Gruber check out
their stance and their swing, which is
pretty amazing,” Lobb said. “This is
a two-time All-Star, a World Series
champion, a 30-home run guy, when
30 home runs was a big number; so
it’s pretty special to get that kind of
instruction in your own backyard.”
Lobb, worked hands-on with the
children, performing ground ball
drills with them on Tuesday in the
Central Huron Community
Complex, trying to impart his
baseball knowledge to them as well.
Running drills in the corner of the
arena floor, Lobb staged elimination
drills where if a participant missed a
ball, he told them to stand by his sign
(Lobb had sponsored a panel on the
arena’s boards, an ad featuring a
large picture of him) as punishment.Lobb said it was fulfilling for himto participate as well. Being so busy
with politics, Lobb says he has
always wanted to coach baseball.
Often people begin coaching
through their children, Lobb said,
and since he and his wife Andrea
don’t have any, he saw the camp as a
way to give back to the children of
his riding and work with them in a
hands-on manner.
“By the second day you could see
some of the children who, maybe
weren’t as confident the first day and
you can see it starting to click,” Lobb
said.
Lobb said the camp really worked
on the fundamentals of baseball,
which is essential if you want to be a
great baseball player.
“If you’re 12 or 14, you can
always continue to learn and evolve
with the very core, fundamental
skills of baseball,” he says.
“Everyone wants to hit their cut-off
man, or turn a double play, and that’s
great, but if you can’t throw, or hit,
or field, it’s pretty tough to turn a
double play.”
In addition, the camp proved to be
a stage for several area baseball
players, Lobb said, as a handful of
players were recruited from the
Clinton camp by Scott Bullett, a
former Major League player who
runs Bullett Proof Baseball, a year-
round camp in Welland.
If nothing else, Lobb says, thatshould be a selling point for thecamp, which Lobb hopes to bring
back to Clinton next year and make
it an annual event.
Gruber, as well as Bullett, was also
impressed with the level of skill of
the players from the community,
saying he was surprised to see such
high level players.
“I’m very surprised,” Gruber said
in an interview with The Citizen. “I
didn’t expect this level of skill,
especially with the younger players.
You always expect talent, but you
expect it to be underdeveloped. I’m
really impressed.”
Gruber, who says the closest to
Huron County he had ever been was
Sarnia, says he loved the area and
looks forward to returning next
year.
“It’s been great meeting all these
good people and the great
countryside obviously,” Gruber said.
“Working with the kids is just a treat
for me.”
Gruber also spoke highly of Lobb,
who convinced him to bring the
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A World Series champion looks on
Former Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kelly Gruber, left, looks on as a young man takes a
swing indoors on July 9 at the Central Huron Community Complex as part of Gruber’s Silver
Slugger Baseball Camp. The camp was moved indoors on Tuesday after the weather
threatened to dampen the players’ experience. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 20