Little guys pick up some of the basics from baseball expert

Published 9:00 am Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Why would 16 youngsters from 6 to 10 show up at Langley Middle School on a dark, wet, cold Sunday night?

Why? To learn how to be better baseball players from a pro, of course.

Pete Wilkinson is a former international Olympic program baseball and softball consultant, a former collegiate baseball player at the University of Southern California and a former high school baseball coach in California and Washington with teams ranked in the top ten in each state.

He runs the Wilkinson Academy in Lynnwood (wilkacad.com), an education outreach program devoted to the belief that sports should build a bridge between education, character and life.

“I teach habits, attitudes and standards that lead directly to successful life experiences,” Wilkinson explained.

Good stuff and the kids ate it up as their fathers, lining the gym, listened closely.

The program was sponsored by the South Whidbey Little League, one in a series of player development clinics designed to get folks thinking about baseball year-round.

“The goal of these clinics is to get the cobwebs off early and get kids in shape to play in the spring and recruit new players to the game by simply getting them interested in playing in a low-key clinic setting,” said new league president Caig Buchanan.

To that end, Wilkinson proceeded to go through a few of the basics — throwing, fielding, running and hitting.

“Tonight we’re covering the same fundamentals taught in the major leagues in a way that the kids can utilize after I’m out of here,” Wilkinson said.

In response to a question from 9-year-old Davin Kesler, Wilkinson noted that pitching is simply throwing with a purpose.

As clinic organizer Andy McRea set up bases and handed out balls and gloves, Wilkinson amplified his basic philosophy.

“I believe that performance is key and that performance comes from combining mechanical skill development with athletic development and internal personal development with a practical understanding of the processes that create success,” he said.

With that, the prospective major leaguers got to work polishing the basics as Wilkinson coached them with great patience based on a long life devoted to baseball.

Observing the action, Buchanan said he’s set his sights on establishing a strong foundation for the league so that it can really begin to grow again after some years of decline.

He’s planning a week-long try-out “camp” versus the former two-hour try-out session for Major and Junior division teams.

“This camp will allow coaches and managers to work with kids in a fun but structured environment doing skills drills while evaluating overall capabilities,” Buchanan said. “Our goal in doing try-outs this way is to give kids and coaches more time to show and evaluate skills.”

He also intends to redraft all divisions in accordance with new rules from Little League International.

“What this means is that no player will automatically return to the team they played on in the previous season, thereby eliminating any ‘empire building,’” he said.

“The hope is that teams will be more balanced with skill and experience,” Buchanan said.

There will be two games per week per team, allowing teams to have at least one practice session without inconveniencing parents or burning out the kids.

“Instead of starting games in mid-April, we plan to start games in mid-March,” he added.

Another goal is to better utilize the fields and resources provided by South Whidbey Parks & Recreation by scheduling more teams of all divisions to use these fields for games and practices.

Buchanan said that player registration is open now, with a $15 discount per player if they register prior to Dec. 31.

Registration information is available at the league’s Website at www.eteamz.com/swllb.

Volunteers for all types of positions and projects are needed. Contact Buchanan at caigb@whidbey.com or 331-6413.

Wilkinson will be back from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 30 at the middle school for more “back to basics” training for the little guys.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.com.