Baseball school set next week

Junior high and high school baseball players looking to get a head start on the upcoming baseball season will have the perfect chance to do so next week.

Former Old Town High School and Husson College baseball coach Jim Walsh and former Brewer High and Brewer American Legion coach Dennis Kiah have co-founded The Baseball School.

The four-day clinic will run Monday, March 11, through Thursday, March 14, at the University of Maine field house.

The Baseball School, which features a wealth of experienced former coaches and players, will provide area youngsters with 10 hours of hands-on instruction in pitching, hitting, fielding, and baserunning. The cost is $35 for the clinics, which will run from 4 p.m.-6:30 p.m. each day.

The school will be split into two divisions, junior (grades 6-8) and senior (grades 9-12). Players are required to furnish their own gloves, hats, bats, and sneakers.

The Baseball School staff features director Walsh and supervisor Kiah along with former Mount Desert Island High School and MDI Legion coach Dennis Damon, former UMaine star and minor league infielder Jeff Paul, former UM slugger Andy Hartung of the Chicago Cubs organization, former UMaine player Doug Carville, and former high school coaches Jim DiFrederico, Earl Anderson, and Mike Connolly. Randy Hutchins and Chris Kempton, teachers in the Old Town system, and certified trainer Julie St. Germain will also be on hand.

The clinic will be run in accordance with Maine Secondary School Principals’ Association guidelines, which prohibits participation or observation by active coaches and does not allow the use of school equipment or school transportation.

For information, call Walsh at 827-3910 (days) or 990-3828 (evenings) or Kiah at 848-3365 (days) or 825-4555 (evenings).