Around 140 boys and girls ages 4-16 learned about baseball basics, as well as some important life lessons, during the free sixth annual Wilbert Ellis Baseball Clinic held July 26 at Frazier Field in Ruston.

“The camp was a real success,” said Wilbert Ellis, former head baseball coach at Grambling State University. “It’s always a thrill because I always like to give back something to the community and the kids.”

Not only did the kids learn how to play baseball through sessions on batting, defense and pitching with former Major League Baseball players as instructors, they also learned important life lessons through enrichment sessions. About 75 parents attended the enrichment sessions as well.

“The kids love baseball, and the kids learn a lot about life through baseball, like how to stay away from drugs, making good grades, making the right decisions, and having the will in life to change for the better,” Ellis said.

Clinic instructors included Ellis, GSU Head Baseball Coach James Cooper; Assistant Baseball Coach Davin Pierre; Obadiah Simmons, former GSU player and interim athletic director of Intercollegiate Athletics; Robert Smith, former GSU player and coach; James Maryland, former Southern University player; and former GSU and Major League Baseball players Benjamin Williams, Ralph Garr, John Lewis, Ronnie Lewis and Bobby Dupree.

Ellis thanked the camp’s sponsors—Squire Creek Country Club, Ruston Housing Authority, First National Bank and Wing Stops in Ruston and Monroe—for making the clinic such a success. All the children received a free t-shirt, NCAA water bottle and Rawlings baseball glove, which were donated through the Coca-Cola NCAA Youth Clinics.