Heights Baseball School emphasizes good sportsmanship; Second session at Columbia Park set for July 16-19

The umpire calls, “strike 3!”
The batter thought the pitch was outside.
The batter is not happy.
You want to keep your cool in that situation, player and coach as well.
There’s a proper way to act when that happens.
It’s all part of good sportsmanship. Being a good sport is just as important as being good in sports.
Sportsmanship, with the aid of an umpire talking about the topic, will be one of the features of the second week of the 22nd annual Chris Roof Heights Baseball School.
The final session is scheduled for the week of July 16 (July 16-19) at Columbia Middle School’s Columbia Park in Berkeley Heights.
As many as 80 kids – hailing mostly from Berkeley Heights and Mountainside in addition to Long Hill, New Providence and Scotch Plains – attended the first session, which took place the first week in July.
Chris Roof said that the second session will include as many as 100 youngsters.
The Heights Baseball School provides some of the best training possible for aspiring young players. The program is geared towards boys entering grades 1 through 9 and includes: batting mechanics, pitching mechanics, individual position play, base running and instructional and competitive games.
A typical camp day includes attendance, stretching and throwing from 9 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. followed by stations and individual competitions from 9:20 to 11:30 a.m.
After a break for snack lunch from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m., a lecture by Coach Roof and activities takes place from 11:45 to 12:10 p.m.
Team defense and position play runs from 12:10 to 12:30 p.m., followed by competitive games from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m.
The camp day wraps with the closing announcements from 1:20 to 1:30 p.m.
Participants are asked to bring their own glove and helmet and may bring a bat if they have one. They should also bring a drink and a snack.
Giveaways include tickets to Yankees, Mets and Somerset Patriots games.
Perhaps the biggest feature of the second session will be the camp-closing Home Run Derby, scheduled for the final day on July 19. That will precede the awards ceremony that day, scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
There are five awards given out for all age groups, including Home Run Derby, Radar Gun, Gold Glove, Accuracy Throw and Hitting Challenge.
Coaches also vote and give out recognition for MVP, Hustler Award and Coaches’ Award.
There is a 5-to-1 ratio of players to coach.
Roof, a 1992 Governor Livingston graduate and former Highlander baseball standout, began the camp – along with his high school coach Bill Howard and former GL baseball player Gary Ruban – in the summer of 1997.
Information about the camp, including how to receive registration information, may be obtained by contacting Coach Chris Roof at [email protected].