Former Major League Baseball players will be putting on a camp for youth next month at a local high school.
The Pro-Instruct Jim Miles Youth Baseball Camp will be from 9 a.m.-noon Sept. 10 at the East Webster High School baseball field. The free camp is being offered to youth ages 7-14 from Webster and Choctaw counties.
The camp’s namesake lives on the edge of the EWHS campus in Cumberland. Miles is a Water Valley native who played for the Washington Senators (which later became the Texas Rangers) from 1966-72.
He will be one of four instructors, the others being Randy “McGilla” McGilberry of Pensacola, Fla., who played for the Kansas City Royals; Kim Seaman from Pascagoula, St. Louis Cardinals; and Donovan Hand from Red Bay, Ala., Cincinnati Reds. Area baseball coaches will also be helping out.
Miles and McGilberry recently promoted the camp during an interview at the Progress-Times office. Participating youth will learn skillsets and lessons from former sports professionals that will encourage hard work, education and success, according to the two.
McGilberry said the camp will teach also life lessons.
“I try to let kids know that there’s life after baseball,” he said. “It’s about having a Plan B to fall back on.”
While the emphasis will be on baseball skills, the camp is open to boys and girls. The organizers hope to offer a softball camp in the future.
McGilberry has offered camps in at least four other states, including Alabama as a participant in the Governor’s Physical Fitness and Sports Commission. Pro-Instruct Inc. is a nonprofit organization.
One highlight of Miles' seven-year big-league career was a strikeout of Mickey Mantle in their only meeting. Miles served as the head baseball coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College from 1976-97 and has been the college athletic director for seven seasons.
McGilberry pitched a no-hitter against Ole Miss in 1973 while playing for Louisiana Tech University. He played for the Royals for two seasons (1977-78).
Those wanting to participate in the camp need to preregister. Registration is being handled by youth recreation leaders in the area who are serving as “commissioners.” They are Vince Tenhet in Mathiston, Jamie McCain in Eupora, and James Turner in Ackerman. Each camper will receive an autographed baseball signed by the former pro players serving as instructors.
