Burnet softball and baseball clinics offer sneak peek at future Dawgs

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

BURNET — The girls were bundled up in sweatshirts, caps and ear covers, but their concentration was on Burnet High School head softball coach Corey Bledsoe.

He demonstrated the proper way to throw a ball, field a ball and hit a ball. Then he asked about 12 of his Lady Dawgs to work with about 30 elementary-aged children to correct their techniques, arm movements and stances.

For Bledsoe, who is in his first year as head coach at Burnet, it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning. He watched his current athletes share their knowledge with his future varsity players.

“They were ready to go,” he said.

The Lady Dawgs teamed with the Burnet High School baseball team to host a clinic for elementary-aged children Jan. 25 at Bulldog Diamonds.

Head baseball coach Jose Sierra, who also is in his first year, said he remembers participating in clinics as a young player living in New Braunfels. In all, 41 children took part.

“It’s a good way to start the season,” he said. “When kids are coming up, they want to be a part of something. It’s a good way to start the year. At one point, our varsity players were little kids. The little guys were pumped. They were ready to play.”

Bledsoe said the main reason for the clinics, besides teaching fundamentals and basics of the sports, was to create a sense of family and unity between the players and their biggest fans, usually the little girls who attend each game in the spring dressed in their uniforms with their gloves.

In return, he hopes the little girls will develop a desire to wear a Lady Dawgs uniform one day.

“I think it’s a great way to build tradition,” he said. “Tradition starts now. I think it’s important to get our younger girls involved.”

Both coaches were impressed by what they saw from the younger players.

“There’s definitely some talent,” Bledsoe said. “I think it’s definitely an opportunity to get better. At 6 to 7 years old, we want to keep that enthusiasm. I love it here. I think it’s a great opportunity for me to touch base with the team. Anytime you can meet the younger kids and show interest, that’s great.”

“You start looking at those kids, you get excited,” Sierra said. “One day, they could be your guys. We introduced them to our program, into our staff. They’ll have a comfort level when they get to high school.”

Sierra said organizers decided to allow the children to take part in the hit-a-thon, which was originally just for the high school players. Each child partnered up with a high school athlete, and the event was at the baseball field at Bulldog Diamonds, he said.

Fans cheered the loudest when they saw the new format for the hit-a-thon, Sierra said.

“We got to simulate what it’s like for Tuesday and Friday nights,” he said. “It ended up working out really well. I really felt like that was a big deal.”

The day ended with the Slugfest contest between the high school baseball and softball teams with the boys winning 8-4. Even though the Bulldogs had to bat opposite of their dominant arms and faced softball pitchers, they took an 8-1 lead into the sixth inning.

But the girls batted last. They were allowed to have coaches pitch to them. The Lady Dawgs scored three runs with the game ending after six innings.

jfierro@thepicayune.com