Coaches conduct out of town camps

FAYETTEVILLE- The University of Arkansas softball coaching staff held three softball camps throughout the state of Arkansas from August 10-14.

Head coach Mike Larabee and assistant coaches Sue Carpenter and Coy Adkins traveled to Mountain Home, Paragould and El Dorado to host three different softball camps for kids from grades K-12.

“We wanted to go out and promote our softball program,” Larabee said. “We wanted to get out to some smaller communities that can’t always drive to Fayetteville for a camp.”

The coaches hosted the four hour camps in the small towns for an affordable price to young campers. At the camps, the athletes were able to learn the basics of softball and the rituals of a college softball team.

“We wanted to work really hard on developing the fundamental skills of the kids.” Larabee said. “They were basic skills camps. We went over hitting and the pre-flight checklist to hitting, getting ready before the pitch is thrown. We talked about how to play a high level of catch and we talked about doing some base running and fielding the right way.”

Overall the camps gathered over 165 athletes. Positive feedback flooded in from the families and staff in the three towns.

“We wanted to get people excited about Razorback softball and build a good fan base.” Larabee said. “We are going to try and do this every year. We made it extremely affordable for the campers. We had a great response and all of the families said that they enjoyed it a lot. A lot of kids wanted pictures with the coaching staff. The state is excited about the future of Arkansas Razorback softball.”