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Baseball Skills Day Hits a Home Run |
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by Dan Veaner
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Friday, 16 June 2006 |
 Tuesday (6/13) evening five American League teams came to the Lansing Town Ball fields to test their baseball skills. The 5th and 6th graders participated in Lansing Recreation Department's Skills Competition Day, where they tried out their baseball skills in six stations. 50 kids went through six stations, testing different skills at each one. Some tested individual skills, others stressed teamwork.
The first event placed one player at each base. They had to throw the ball from base to base, making sure that the ball was thrown to each base in the field. If a player missed the ball he had to retrieve it and touch his base before throwing to the next player.
 Recreation Director Steve Colt explains how the events will go
Station 2 tested players' speed, running around the bases for time. A team's score was based on the total time it took for four players to run the bases from home around back to home. A tire was set up as a target for the accuracy throw. Each player got five throws. Throwing the ball inside the tire counted for three points, and hitting the tire counted as one.
 Throw Around  Run Around
Next players tried the distance throw. A tape measure was laid along the field, and players got a running start inside a throwing zone to see how far they could throw the ball. The American League record of 208' 6" was set in 1993.
 Distance Throw
A five man relay throw was the fifth event. Five bases were laid out in a straight line, 75 feet apart. The first player threw to the second, who had to touch his base before throwing it to the next one. The event tested speed and accuracy.
 Accuracy Throw
The last event was the home run derby. An adult pitcher threw from behind a protective net while sluggers hit the ball out of the park. Each player got six swings, and many balls did go over the fence. Most importantly kids had a great time and got a chance to test their skills.
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