Lead by Ole Miss baseball assistant coach Marc MacMillan, Ole Miss baseball camps for boys grades first-12th are intended to improve campers’ baseball performance of all skill levels through instruction by “some of the top coaches in the country” and current Ole Miss team members.
Held three times a year, with two sessions in the summer and one in the winter, the first summer session ran this July 10-13 and will continue next week from July 17 –20.
“In the end, we would like for them to grow in their love for Ole Miss and the game, learn how to be great teammates and leave camp with the fundamentals and drills that may assist in their continued development” MacMillan said.
MacMillan was a player for Ole Miss during the 1990s and is in his second year of assistant coaching. He is dedicated to his campers being the best that they can be and play each day, no matter the circumstances.
Baseball skills and fundamental like position technique are learned not just from the field, but from fun activities, as well.
The campers sweat it out in the heat during morning practice on Swayze Field.
“We do a slip n’ slide, where we teach them sliding technique. [The slip n’ slide] is set up on the field. [The campers] love it,” Chandler Couch said.
Chandler Couch, baseball office worker, is a rising sophomore at Ole Miss from Houston.
“I love it when the morning only kids come in and want to become full-day campers,” Olivia Schnetzler said.
Schnetzler, assistant camp coordinator, is a rising senior from Manassas, Virginia.
The camp runs Monday-Friday and offers morning-only, full-day and overnight sessions. The overnight camp is offered for ages 10 and up.
“We teach how to embrace adversity, how to be at their best every day, how to have the confidence to know that each may succeed in any given situation and how to put their teammates first,” Schnetzler said.
Jeremy Massie, former Ole Miss left-handed pitcher and current coordinator of operations for the Rebels, is passionate about making an impact on the campers’ lives through baseball. He loves that the camp not only shapes the boys to be better ballplayers but also to be a better person, all while having fun.
“[It’s] more than just the fundamentals of baseball. We teach them things about life in general and other aspects of [life] that they might not think about,” Massie said.
Some of the life lessons are taught through listening and speaking activities like the “Learning T” and “Speaker Series.” These activities reinforce campers to be open to learning, listening, and being able to speak about “why”, which gives value to the tasks they wish to accomplish.
“We want to show the campers what it is like to be a Rebel. That’s why we talk about R.E.B.S. so much” Massie said.
Throughout the week, the meaning of R.E.B.S. (Being Relentless, Being Excellent, have Belief, and Being Selfless) is taught to campers as the essentials of an Ole Miss ballplayer, and daily awards are given to those who followed these values. Awards are also given at the end of the week, including the R.E.B.S. and MVP.
Massie’s favorite part of camp is seeing the kids run up to their parents with excitement at the end of the day, eager to tell them about their daily experience.
“[We] have to give [coach MacMillan] credit for the amazing camps that he runs here” Massie said.
To register for next week’s camp, 7/17-7/20, and for more info visit http://collegebaseballcamps.com/rebelbaseball, or email Coach MacMillan.
