GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Voyagers have once again started their annual Nike kids baseball camp at Voyagers Stadium on Thursday.
Leading the camp are current Voyagers players.
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"It's nice to see kids that want to come out and have fun, and learn a little bit, and come in numbers," current Voyager Jayden Drake said during Thursday's session.
Drake is a new player on Great Falls' roster, and he said teaching kids baseball sparked memories of when he was growing up.
"Keeps me in touch with the sport," Drake said. "I got a little brother and sister back home, so being able to teach their age group, you know, just brings me back to catch with the little brother in the front yard."
Voyagers marketing and communications manager Sarah Miller is someone who's helped coordinate the camp and bring in all the participants.
"It's a great turnout, we have 51 children enrolled," Miller said. "It's just so amazing to see something like this taking place in the summertime. Having kids out at the ballpark, just building their confidence in baseball."
Miller said the camp means a lot to the organization.
"In the way that kids are able to get first-hand experience with the players," Miller said. "Something that we're looking to build on is community engagement and it's been so great to be able to have the hands-on experience."
Since Miller mentioned hands-on experience, let's see what some of the campers had to say about what they've learned in day one.
"Better bare hand, and a couple trick plays," Beau Kantorowicz said.
"Trick plays," Knox Arntzen said.
"I kind of learned how to be catcher a little bit better," Graham Zadick said.
"It's pretty cool to learn from a professional team," Kantorowicz said.
Drake said that he hopes the campers walk away from this experience with something that lasts a long time.
"Something that maybe they end up sharing to the younger crowd when they're here," Drake said.
The camp runs through Saturday at Voyagers Stadium.
