Marble Falls ends May with the start of summer camps

CAPTION: The way baseball and softball players are taught to slide is by using a sprinkler water mat with soap as demonstrated by Jocelyn Suarez, who has served as a softball camp assistant coach. 

While the sports year is ending, coaches are bracing for summer camps to better help the next group of great Mustangs and Lady Mustangs who will join the high school program before they know it.

The first group of camps begins Tuesday, May 26. with the baseball, softball and soccer camps.

Baseball camp, under the direction of head coach Tyler Porter, is from 8:30-10:15 a.m. for rising first- through fifth-graders and 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for rising sixth- through ninth-graders for $85. It ends May 29. Click here to register online.

Softball camp, under the direction of head coach Alex Lozoya, is from 6-8 p.m. for incoming first- through ninth-graders for $60. It ends May 28. Click here to register online.

Soccer camp, under the direction of Mustangs head coach Ryan Craven and Lady Mustangs head coach Marisa Miller, is from 9-10:30 a.m. for incoming first- through ninth-graders for $40. It ends May 27. Click here to register online.

Coaches say the camps serve many important purposes.

First, they give the youngsters, especially the elementary-aged children, a chance to meet the coaches. Second, they are taught the fundamentals of the sport that are emphasized during high school practices. And third, the kids are learning in an environment where there’s little pressure to get it right quickly. They are corrected in a place where it’s more important they learn it right as opposed to learning it quickly.

“Some really good athletes find out when they come out it’s like, ‘Oh, this isn’t easy,'” Lozoya said. “You have to keep practicing it almost daily, just so that you show up and you give yourself a chance to be competitive. The biggest thing is for these kids to come to campus so the coaches get to know who they have coming up and for the parents to see what the coaches are like and for everybody to interact and have a good time. The last few camps that I’ve been here, the kids are wanting to learn and wanting to get better and wanting to meet the coaches.”

He noted the camp serves as a bridge between the middle school students and the diamond since neither baseball nor softball is offered as part of the athletic program at those campuses.

Some staff members include graduated players or current Lady Mustangs.

“They get very excited to be around the high school girls, too,” Lozoya said. “So it’s a good benefit.”

For Porter, it goes beyond those elements.

“Oh, it’s huge,” he said. “That is one of my biggest things. Being at bigger (Class) 6A schools in Houston, we didn’t run camps, because they rezoned so much that you wouldn’t know who you’re getting. You might have a kid in camp at seventh grade who doesn’t wind up on your campus as a freshman. And that’s the awesome part about here is I start to pull up pictures, and a lot of the kids on our varsity team right now went to this camp.”

He pointed specifically to rising senior Casey Layton and rising sophomore Landon White. Back then, the two were getting closer to becoming high school players and their families were making decisions on where to go next. The camps allowed their parents to get to know Porter and his staff and the boys showed they could thrive at Marble Falls High School as student-athletes.

And Porter recognized the two would contribute to any program they played for. Both are solid hitters and can get on the mound to pitch as well as play multiple positions on the field.

“They were first exposed to Marble Falls baseball because of those camps, and they weren’t enrolled with us yet,” the coach said. “I think being around the kids on the campus, the parents kind of went ‘Oh OK, well, this looks like a good place.’ So it’s good to get to know the kids coming up and it’s good for them to get to know our program and see how we do things. Typically, I think we’re viewed positively by the parents and campers, which again, can only help us community wise and program wise.”