Port Orange Panthers bring community together through annual baseball camp

For two hours per day, campers work on the fundamentals, including footwork, fielding, throwing and hitting.

By Ray Boone
| 12:32 a.m. June 19, 2018

Coach Antwan Brown teaches the campers how to hit. Photo by Ray Boone

Coach Antwan Brown gives instructions to the campers at the start of practice. Photo by Ray Boone

Cole Clapsaddle warms up at the start of the practice. Photo by Ray Boone

Emerson Callahan throws a ball at the start of practice. Photo by Ray Boone

Former Mainland baseball players Jackson Strickland stretches with the campers. Photo by Ray Boone

Coach Tom Strickland gives instructions to the campers. Photo by Ray Boone

Josiah Perez hits a ball during batting practice. Photo by Ray Boone

Nicolas Lutton throws a ball during practice. Photo by Ray Boone

Noah Gibson hits a ball during batting practice. Photo by Ray Boone

Ormond Beach Observer
Sports

Jackson Strickland has been a volunteer coach for the Port Orange Panthers’ baseball camp since the start of the camp six years ago. But when Strickland, who graduated from Mainland High School in 2018, sees the kids learning the game at the camp, he can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

“We didn’t have this when I was growing up,” said Strickland, who also played catcher and first base for the Buccaneers’ baseball team. “I look at these kids who have the opportunity to play competitive, to learn the game better than I did. It’s great to come out to teach what you know to younger kids. It’s passing it on, and it’s really fulfilling.”

The Panthers’ first camp of the summer started on Monday, June 18, and ends Thursday, June 21. The Panthers will host another camp on June 25-28. For two hours per day, campers work on the fundamentals, including footwork, fielding, throwing and hitting.

“Every day, we’re hitting a different aspect of the game,” said Antwan Brown, who in addition to coaching Atlantic High School’s baseball team, has worked with the Panthers’ camp for the past six years. “But we want to keep it fun as well. We don’t want it to be overwhelming. We want them to come out and enjoy it and have them want to come back for years to come.”

Brown said that in addition to baseball instruction, the goal of the camp is to bring the players and the community together.

“We want to show these little guys that baseball can be fun, but you actually have to learn a little bit about the game,” he said. “We want to get them involved in the summertime and show them that baseball is not only a sport that’s fun but that it can also teach you life lessons, and you can meet lifetime friends through it.”