By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

WITH 2023 now winding down, I-BAP (Bahamas Athletic Pride) in collaboration with New York’s Electric City Bombers intends to host a pop-up Christmas camp this Saturday at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

The one-day event will be spearheaded by featured coach Brandon Barcomb, who leads a Top 10 United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) programme.

Dachye Stubbs, director of softball for the International Elite (I-Elite) Sports Academy, shared what led to this collaboration between the two organisations for this weekend.

“Both organisations’ goals are similar. We want to give all athletes that we come across the opportunity to grow and develop no matter the skill level or social class. It so happens that the sports we coach can award the kids the opportunity to get free education.

“Additionally, we understood the value of travel ball. Most kids here do not have the opportunity to travel abroad to play for long periods of time so we look forward to some of our girls having an additional level of exposure and playing in some more tournaments abroad,” Stubbs said.

With the softball season scheduled to start in January, registered participants will have the opportunity to hone their skills ahead of next month’s competition.

Athletes within the 8-16 age group will be afforded an opportunity to work with experienced softball coaches, work on agility, fielding and hitting drills, have the chance to experience international play opportunities and be exposed to recruiting resources. The I-Elite softball director and event organiser is expecting Barcomb to impart useful knowledge into those that opt to partake in the pre-Christmas event.

“Coach Brandon coaches one of the Top 10 USSSA travel ball teams in the USA which means he has years of experience and a plethora of seeds to sow into players and coaches alike. He specialises in hitting and agility so kids can look forward to working on those elements of the game,” she said.

She added that it is not too late for interested individuals to register for the pop up camp. Additionally, local primary and high school coaches are invited to attend. Registration can be completed online via www.bapsoftball.com or by contacting 1-242-445-4551.

The cost of registration is $35. The event will run from 9:15am to 12:15pm this Saturday.