8 Thursday, August 1, 2013
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Local little leaguers learn from Dirtbags at baseball camp The Dirtbag Camp began in June and will continue through Aug. 9. By Jason Clark Sports Editor
Long Beach State baseball may have ended its season more than two months ago, but that doesn’t mean baseball has stopped at The Beach. Dirtbag Camp has kept America’s pastime alive at LBSU, as little leaguers have taken over the campus baseball field for most of the summer. Kids armed with bats and gloves have shown up each day for batting practice, drills and friendly scrimmages led by current and former Dirtbags players and coaches. “We love it,” said Jessica Cheshire, a parent of one of the kids. “He’s a baseball fanatic. He would do it every day if he could.” Dirtbags Camp Director David Yamane said the camp has two goals: make sure the kids have fun, and help them improve as baseball players. “Our camp philosophy is that we’re a baseball camp in the summer, as opposed to a summer camp about baseball,” he said. “A lot of kids already have a love for the game, and we want
Sara Berkson | Daily 49er
Two Dirtbag Camp participants play in a scrimmage at the campus baseball field Wednesday afternoon. to cultivate that. We want to help them become better players because for you to move up, you have to get better, or else it won’t be fun anymore.” Yamane said skill was hardly an issue for most of the players, though, as a fair amount have had to leave the camp for
trips with little league all-star teams. “We have three kids who left last week to go to a world series, and we have four kids who went to a regional in Colorado this past week,” Yamane said “We had an entire all-star team win their Southern California region,
Commentary
Steve Nash’s soccer tryout could help grow sport By Michael Morris Assistant Sports Editor
Ron Artest was amnestied, Dwight Howard wanted to “have fun again” and Steve Nash worked out for Inter Milan? While his workout on Tuesday was something that could remove another starter from a deteriorating Lakers’ lineup, don’t expect Nash to jump ship like Howard. Inter Milan is a professional soccer club in Italy’s Serie A league that is based in Milan. It has hosted elite soccer players like Kaka and Ronaldinho. So what makes a two-time NBA MVP something of interest for Inter Milan? Well, the fact that he can dribble with his feet sure helps. The Canadian point guard is an avid soccer fan who just so happens to be talented at both sports. Nash has mentioned in interviews before that he would have played soccer professionally if it wasn’t for basketball. And while Nash most likely won’t make the team, there is some good here that Major League Soccer (MLS) may want to take advantage of. The popularity of soccer in the U.S. has been thought to be on the rise the past few years, but the MLS and its clubs are seeing much of the same when it comes to ratings and attendance. Former NFL wideout Chad Ochocinco had a four-day tryout with the MLS’s Sporting KC in March of 2011 but failed to make the club. Ochocinco admitted that his speed was simply not enough to compete with the other players trying out. Nash worked out for the New York Red Bulls in the past, but his other career prevented him from wearing a Red Bulls jersey long-term.
MCT
Steve Nash (10) has played basketball for most of his career but recently worked out with Italian soccer club Inter Milan. While one tryout was just for fun, Nash said his most recent tryout fulfilled a lifelong dream. That begs the question, what keeps the MLS from fulfilling a dream of its own and garnering a fan base that resembles those of the mainstream professional sports? The answer to that can be found in the pool of players that play other sports professionally in the United States. Nash may be the most recent player to tryout for a soccer club, but for the sake of the MLS and its increasing popularity, he shouldn’t be the last. Soccer is a sport that involves a great deal of conditioning and athleticism, just like football, baseball and basketball. The conditioning and athleticism is already present in any football, baseball or basketball athlete who played soccer earlier in their athletic lives. All the MLS and its teams would need to do is open their checkbooks and find the ex-soccer players among the NBA, MLB and NFL. Those most likely interested in
doing this would be those near the end of retirement and athletes in between contracts. Although I’m certain there will be a portion of soccer purists who detest the very idea of this, I think there are a lot of people who are on the fringe of being a fan of an MLS soccer team but haven’t yet been given a reason to fill the seats and watch the games. It seems that every country but the U.S. has a hunger and passion for the game of soccer that rivals and often outdoes the fandom of football fans and baseball fans within the states. With the MLS forming in 1996, many potential soccer fans have paid more attention to the players and teams in a sport that they already root for and often see in the media, instead of following a new game like soccer. The idea may be a bit outlandish, but with the NBA, NFL and MLB firmly rooted into American culture, soccer seems to be at a disadvantage that may take decades to overcome.
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and they went last week up to Utah for the western regional.” Dirtbags second baseman Colton Vaughn said he noticed the talent as well. “We’ve got some gamers,” Vaughn said. “Some of the 10- and 11-year-olds
‘Niner Notes Roger Kirk promoted to Assistant Athletics Director of Media Relations Long Beach State announced Friday that Roger Kirk has been promoted to Assistant Athletics Director of Media Relations, replacing Stephanie Sampson, who was let go in June. Kirk, who was formerly the associate media relations director at LBSU, covered LBSU’s women’s volleyball, baseball and women’s water polo teams for the past five years and will now serve as the primary sports information director. Since LBSU hired him in 2007, Kirk has received the West Region’s Grant Burger Media Award for outstanding service in the promotion of volleyball by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Kirk also received a publications award by the College Sports Information Directors of America. 49ers women’s tennis 2013-14 schedule announced LBSU women’s tennis head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello announced the team’s 2013-14 schedule Friday. The 49ers will open their fall season in Las Vegas at the three-day UNLV Fall Invitational on Sept. 20, one of four tournaments the team will par-
are pretty good.” While many Dirtbags are out playing in summer baseball leagues, Vaughn, center fielder Colby Brenner and others are spending their summers helping out with Dirtbag Camp. “It’s better than any summer job I can think of,” Vaughn said. “It’s kind of rewarding coming back to teach little kids that actually want to learn.” Yamane, who took over as camp director when Troy Buckley became LBSU’s head coach three years ago, said Dirtbag Camp has become something more than just a baseball camp for kids. “Our goal is to get them better, but we also want them to come out and watch us play,” he said. ““I want these kids to get to know our program a lot better, so we teach them baseball and Dirtbags history.” The kids may be at the camp to play baseball and learn, but they have the chance to go home with a lot more. Yamane said that current and former players, even those who are in the major leagues, sign baseball cards each year to be given out as prizes at the camp. “Jered Weaver and Tulo [Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki] have sent autographs in the past,” Yamane said. He said one of this year’s top prizes is the autograph of Adam Wilk, a relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers who pitched in last year’s World Series. Dirtbag Camp is wrapping up for most ages this week, but middle schoolers will be taking the field for the first time next week. The camp ends on Aug. 9.
ticipate in this fall. More than two months will separate the team’s fall season and its spring season. The Beach will open its spring season at home with the third annual Beach Classic on Jan. 10. The 49ers will play a total of 14 home matches in its spring season, including eight nonconference games in the entire month of March. LBSU concludes its season on April 18 at UC Riverside, one week after a home match with conference rival UC Irvine on April 12. Graduated 49er Simone Hoey wins Lakewood Women’s City Golf Championship Former LBSU golfer Simone Hoey won the Lakewood Women’s City Championship on Friday after setting a new course record with a final round 65. Hoey beat second-place Clariss Guce of Cal State Northridge by six shots and finished the two-day event held at the Lakewood Country Club at 14 strokes under par. After four years on the golf team, Hoey graduated from LBSU in the spring. She led the 49ers to two tournament titles and a second-place finish at the Big West Conference Championship. — Compiled by Assistant Sports Editor Daniel Astle
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