Buck's Baseball Camp ends Week as "Amazing"

The week of July 11th through the 18th was not just another week in the summer for many local baseball players. It was a week in the heat, humidity, and turf of Penders Field for some 60 campers attending the annual Buck’s Baseball camp supported by the Town of Stratford Recreation Department.

Stratford High Baseball Coach Mick Buckmir, his Assistant Coach Skip Lance and a host of Stratford High School players took charge of three groups of skill building players ranging in ages from 6 to 14.

Without question the Penders Field namesake Mr James Penders would have been proud of what he was seeing taking place all over the complex as the entire field was covered in complete instruction and drill work to make these youngsters better at their skills in baseball.

Penders revolutionized sports in the Town of Stratford midway through the 20th century by believing in competing at a high level in any sport, organizing camps at numerous locations town wide where each site would travel to see who was the best with the ultimate Championships held at Longbrook Park.

In 1971 the field was named after Penders for his decades of dedication to the youth of Stratford.

The camp was broken down into three groups with each group moving to an assigned area for further practice and instruction.

On the big diamond it was the 12-14 year olds who were involved in a very high tempo and energy workout for three hours each morning. Drill after drill took place both on the defensive side of the field as well as the offensive side of the ball. Numerous stations were set up and several pieces of equipment were utilized.

Along the bleacher section Luke Ryan (Bunnell 2024) and SHS’s Max Owen led a group of 9,10, and 11 year olds where they furthered their abilities in fundamentals of the game and the necessities to be successful as they move onto the next level of play. Lots of hand eye coordination and competitive drills kept this group on their toes.

The most spirited group were the little rascals of the 6,7, and 8 year olds where Lance, a master of instruction and innovation within the game of baseball for that age group, had that group cheering the entire time each day. It could be said this group learned a lot about the game within the game as facial determination highlighted the week.

Lance has been teaching, developing, and mentoring Stratford’s youth for the past 50+ years as a summer playground counselor, Sterling House coordinator, and a retired teacher from Stratford’s Public School system just to list a few. He has always lended an ear and given life lessons to many since the 1970’s. He is Stratford’s “Mister Rogers”.

On Friday a guest appearance was made by Darien Baseball Head Coach Mike Scott. Scott was a UCONN standout as well as a Detroit Tiger draft pick.

The camp completed its ninth year of action during a week where temperatures soared into the 90's with very high humidity and dew point levels. As these players stepped onto the field each day all of the discomfort took a back seat and many friendships started in the game they have come to know and appreciate.

In a blink of an eye the camp came to a conclusion with a degree of sadness with campers not wanting it to end. They each left knowing they have improved since the first day.
Recreation Supervisor Jeremy Susi summed up the camp as he shook hands with Coach Buckmir as “ amazing “, a simple thought shared by many.