Mets Second Baseman Offers Tips to Campers in Somers
By Michael Giuliano – New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker visited Summer Trails Day Camp in Granite Springs on July 26 and offered tips and words of advice to the campers, emphasizing the importance of hard work and perseverance.
Summer Trails, which was founded in 1974, offers both a baseball camp and a traditional camp. While the traditional camp offers a variety of over 60 different events and sports in its program, the baseball camp focuses solely on teaching the mechanics and drills of baseball.
Each camp also offers several special events throughout the season, and for the baseball camp that means a visit from a MLB player. Walker continued the tradition this year, following in the footsteps of baseball greats such as Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Lou Pinella, and Mel Stottlemyre.
Walker began by reinforcing the basic mechanics of fielding, from properly fielding a ground ball to turning a double-play. After performing several of the techniques himself, campers lined up to do the same under the watchful eye of Walker, who offered both praise and advice as they went. Still, for Walker this was more about play than actual work, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as the afternoon progressed.
“Coming up here and just getting out there, watching the kids play and enjoy their summer, is pretty important,” Walker said in an interview. “You never know what kids are going through, and to leave a positive impact on [them] is something that sometimes gets lost in professional sports.”
Jamie Sirkin, the director and owner of Summer Trails since 2003, praised Walker’s attitude with the campers, calling him a “stand-up guy.”
“He talked to the kids about how baseball is a game of endurance, and how you need to work hard to excel,” Sirkin said. “[And] He talked about having fun. I always love when a professional athlete includes ‘fun’ in combination with perseverance and resilience.”
After drills were finished, Walker sat down and signed autographs and took pictures with each camper (along with several counselors). One lucky birthday boy was even able to take a “selfie” with the baseball star, to the delight of his peers.
A rained-out the game the night before forced a doubleheader against the Cardinals on Tuesday, so Walker had to leave camp earlier than scheduled. Still, after signing autographs and taking pictures for everybody he made sure to oversee one last round of double-play training before leaving.
“It’s not work for me,” Walker said. “You come out here and see the whiffle ball field, the smaller dimensions, and it brings you back to childhood memories.”
Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.
