Pro pitching coach headlines camp [Baseball]

October 25, 2012

Brent Strom

Former major league pitcher Brent Strom has taught the game of baseball to kids all over the country, but he believes Alaskans stand tall despite a short season.

“They are tough kids,” he told me. “There is a different, tougher mindset with those young men up there. They have to overcome obstacles others don’t in the Lower 48.”

Strom – now the pitching coordinator for the St. Louis Cardinals – and professional hitting instructor Jeff Albert, also with the Cardinals, are back in Anchorage for the 3rd annual Professional Baseball Clinic, sponsored by the Alliance for Support of American Legion Baseball in Alaska.

The camp runs the weekend of Nov. 2-3-4 inside the cozy confines of The Dome and is open to kids ages 10 to 19. Cost is a $25 one-time fee that includes unlimited access to any and all sessions.

Even if you came to the camp before, don’t assume it’s the same old stuff.

“I have new ideas, stuff that will simplify the movement,” Strom said. “Do doctors continue to go to meetings to keep getting more informed?”

In other words, never get complacent or cocky.

“Once one stops learning, one goes backward,” Strom said. “Will try and entertain while giving information – that is the quality of a good teacher.”