GINOWAN CITY, Okinawa -- Local Japanese elementary and middle school-aged baseball players from Ginowan City invited American children to participate in the closing ceremony of the Ginowan Baseball Tournament and a clinic hosted by the Yokohama Bay Stars Feb. 11.
The closing ceremony awarded the top two teams in the tournament tickets to Yokohama, Japan, to participate in another baseball tournament. At the close of the ceremony the players had the opportunity to be coached by members of the Yokohama Bay Stars.
"This clinic is the way that the Yokohama Bay Stars give back to the Ginowan community for hosting them during their training here," said Mike Holland, American Chamber of Commerce member and coordinator between organizers of the clinic and service members.
"This year about 65 American kids signed up to take advantage of the clinic. One day I hope we can have our own team."
During the clinic, the players were coached in five areas of baseball.
"Today we're going to go over fundamentals that professionals use when they play," said Lyle "Tony" Yates, international baseball scout and former pitching coach for the New York Mets. "We're dividing it into express warm-up, running form, throwing techniques, fielding and hitting."
Some parents appreciated not only the clinic, but also the experience that it would give their children.
"We thought this sounded like a fun opportunity to be able to meet some Japanese baseball players," said Adrieke Osmun, mother of Alex a seven year baseball player. "This will expand Alex's horizons to see that baseball is a world-wide sport."
The Yokohama Bay Stars had some American players on the team including former Padre Terrmel Sledge, former Astro Jose Castillo and former Angel Chris Bootcheck.
"It's good for the American kids to be able to relate to these players being in a foreign country and taking advantage of these experiences," Holland said.
"I thought it was pretty fun to be able to train and meet new people," said Alex Osmun a left fielder. "There were things I thought I should be doing when I played that I shouldn't and I learned that today. I'm going to tell kids how fun it was and how much I learned."
For anyone interested in participating next year or in forming a baseball team to compete in the Ginowan Baseball Tournament please contact Mike Holland at info@studyandinternjapan.com.