Learning life lessons at summer baseball camp

Officers and baseball. The ebbs and flows of life. Lessons learned. Failure happens. Pick yourself up and enjoy the successes.

That’s what baseball teaches.

Precinct 12 had another great success this year with its annual Cops and Kids baseball camp at Merritt Point Park. The free camp, for boys and girls ages 6-13, ran 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from June 24-27.

An estimated 30 Baltimore County police officers and three Maryland state troopers volunteered as instructors.

More than 180 children took part in the four-day camp, averaging over 150 attendees each day.

The camp began in 2016 as a way to build positive relationships between police officers and the youth of Dundalk.

It has since evolved to teach children much more than America’s pastime.

Minton and his colleagues aim to educate the children beyond baseball.

“We also teach life lessons through the game of baseball,” Minton said. “[The children] will learn to deal with success and failure. We talk about never giving up and that mistakes will happen, and that we need to learn from them and keep moving forward.”

And parents of the children that attended have taken notice.

“I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Officer [Andrew] Minton and all of the other officers involved with the camp,” said Dundalk resident and parent Jessica Plaza. “Giving their time to the kids is amazing.”

Plaza’s son, Max, attended the camp last year for the first time. When she asked him if he wanted to go again this year, he did not hesitate to say yes.

The instructors covered the fundamentals of baseball with drills on hitting, fielding, and base-running.

“Being part of a team will help kids develop confidence and social skills, including listening and communication,” Minton said.

Baltimore County Police Department’s Aviation Unit, Tactical Unit, and K-9s visited on the last day of camp. The kids had the opportunity to ask questions and see the equipment up close.

“The most gratifying part of camp is to see the relationships built during the week between the kids and the officers,” said organizer and police officer Andrew Minton.

Plaza said she will undoubtedly send her son to the camp again next year.

“This has quickly become a summer favorite,” she said. “We know [our son had] fun playing baseball and interacting with the officers and other kids.”

The kids learned invaluable life lessons.

“Kids need to see the officers doing all the good things in their community instead of [just] hearing about the scary things that happen on TV,” Plaza said.

For more information about the camp and future Precinct 12 events, call 410-887-7320.