Two things kids inevitably complain that they are all summer long: hungry, and bored. Hungry is why some genius invented pizza rolls, and the answer to bored--? Sam Plank’s Diamon Elite baseball camp!
The Boy will never develop carpal tunnel at age 11 because he plays hours of video games all day. We make sure he is outside playing to make him too tired to be a wise guy when we unlock the door and let him back in- I mean, when he is welcomed back home after a hard day at play...ahem.
The Man had The Boy hitting off of a tee when he could stand at 13 months, and we figured we were going to end up spending his college fund on trips to Jamaica and Miami, so baseball became our back up plan to a full ride academic scholarship.(Great parentin, riiight?) He is a baseball fiend, and if I may brag a little, a pretty good player! So we are always on the hunt for challenging sports camps for him to attend. When we found out about Sam Plank’s baseball camps, we were really excited about his opportunity to train with one of the best.
Plank held a clinic for some of the Dulles Little League teams; members of the phenomenal Varsity Baseball Team he coaches at Stone Bridge (20-4 record for the ’07-08 season!) trained the boys at different stations and it was fantastic. The Boy learned skills to improve every aspect of his game, and enjoyed Plank’s coaching style, so it was a no brainer to enroll him in camp.
From start to finish, the camp is full of activity, exercise, skills training, and what was it The Boy talked most about…? FUN. I never witnessed it myself- too hot out there for ME, besides, I was playing Guitar Hero in his bedroom all day- but The Boy’s daily report was always positive. When The Man came home from work and asked about camp, they typically went outside to he could see what The Boy had learned that day. He always referred to the coaches as “pretty cool”, which is a very high rating in a 9 year old’s book, and was always eager to hit to field each morning.
I was really pleased with two things: the continued love for baseball that The Boy came home with each day, and how WORN OUT he was after a day at camp. No wise guy comments, ok- not as many. No “I’m bored” whining… he napped like he was a toddler after camp- LOVE IT!
Can I report any meaty details about Sam Plank’s baseball camp to you? Nope. Any parent of a 7-12 year old probably gets the same detailed answers I do when asked about the day: “fine.” “cool.” “yup.” “nope.” “I dunno.” “sigh, can I go up to my room now?” But what I CAN say is that The Boy got plenty of exercise, enjoyed his day- believe me- I would have heard about it if the camp was “lame” or “so unfair” or “booooorrrring”!
I did, however; witness the clinic that Plank held during the AA DLL season, and was impressed by the professionalism and organization with which Plank and his team trained no less than 100 kids on a hot spring day. Never a dull moment, and each training session was just the right length to keep kids from getting antsy- they moved from skill to skill with ease. The summer is young yet, and there is still time to look into the camps to see if space is still available if you have a bored kid wasting the summer away in front of the boob tube. I can happily report that~ Sam Plank’s Diamond Elite Training Passes with Flying Colors!
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