By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

I-BAP (Bahamas Athletic Pride) in collaboration with New York’s Electric City Bombers hosted a successful pop up Christmas camp on Saturday at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex to close out the 2023 calendar year.

The softball athletes in attendance were led by New York’s Brandon Barcomb, head coach of the 10U and 12U Electric City Bombers, who passed on various softball skills at the one-day camp.

The collaborative effort between the two softball programmes proved to be fruitful as I-BAP received softball equipment on Saturday as well.

Coach Barcomb was delighted to be able to work alongside the young athletes on Saturday morning.

“It was outstanding. I tend to appreciate folks out of these kinds of places a lot more than some folks out of the United States. It’s a lot of wonderful people when I come down here and it is great for me because the girls are always very motivated and there are a lot of great players down here.

“I also like the family-nature and community, the way folks are with me and my daughters. I love that aspect,” he said. “The girls were outstanding. They listened very well and a lot of them came and said thanks which I appreciated a ton because they realised they learned a little something here and there. Every time they take the field they get a little better each day so it’s a good thing,” the visiting coach added.

On Saturday, the 20 athletes in attendance practiced agility, hitting, catching and fielding drills along with coach Barcomb.

Dachye Stubbs, director of softball for the International Elite (I-Elite) Sports Academy, was grateful to work alongside Barcomb to give the girls an opportunity to learn more skills and gain more exposure.

“The girls had an opportunity to work on fielding, catching and agility drills. It was a pop up camp, we had three days to put together and we had a good turnout. Coach Brandon donated some equipment to the programme so that is always a plus and he brought a wealth of knowledge to the game. “Some of the stuff the girls have heard before but with his expertise he was able to break down and explain a lot to them that we may not be able to here in The Bahamas. It was pretty good and the girls had fun which is the most important part,” Stubbs said.

After working under the tutelage of Barcomb, the girls will now have the opportunity to play on his 10U and 12U travel teams.

“This collaboration with coach Brandon will allow some of the girls to have the opportunity to travel to the USA and play with his travel team.

“Like any I-BAP event, travel college and high school exposure and any recruiting resources that can help girls get scholarships through the sport of softball is always a plus,” the event organiser said.

Jaylah Maycock, who plays outfield and is making a return from an injury, was especially happy to shake some rust off at the pop up camp.

“Personally, I feel like the clinic was very influential to me because coming off an injury, I felt like I was a little rusty at first and nervous but as I came into the environment it was very productive,”

“Some things I learned today was to work on hitting, my stances in the box and having confidence in the box. I plan to now work hard, take the information given to me and apply it on the field,” Maycock said.

Along with Maycock at the camp was outfielder Charmia Curtis.

She thoroughly enjoyed her experience at the camp over the weekend.

“My experience at the camp was good. I really enjoyed learning new drills and my favourite part about it was hitting. He showed me some great movements to improve my hitting. The skills I learned here today will definitely help me to perform better in games with faster movement and better hitting,” she said.

The softball season will begin for the girls in January.