By Lauren Wester

lauren.wester@fct.wpengine.com

Since 1996 the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association has hosted youth baseball camps free of charge coached by former Major League baseball players. For the first time in 21 years, Alabama – more specifically, Red Bay – will be the host of one. 

Oct. 28, the first-ever Olan Cunningham Youth Baseball Camp will take place at the Dixie Youth Baseball Complex in Red Bay. Officials announced the camp Monday at the Red Bay City Council meeting.

The camp’s namesake is former Red Bay Coach Olan Cunningham. State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow introduced the opportunity to Red Bay and also suggested the name of the camp. 

“When I learned that the camps focus on teaching life skills as well as baseball skills, I immediately thought of Coach Cunningham,” Morrow explained.

Randy McGilberry, a member of the MLBPAA, was Morrow’s contact to bring Red Bay the opportunity to host such a monumental event. McGilberry is a former pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.

“The camp focuses on teaching the kids effort, discipline, working hard and steady and what it means to commit to something and sacrifice to reach your goal,” McGilberry said.

The camp is free of charge for participants. There will be 200 slots available to be filled equally from Franklin, Marion, Colbert and Lauderdale counties, 50 children from each county. If one county is unable to fill all 50 spots, then the other counties will be able to fill in the empty slots if they have additional applications. The camp will be open to boys and girls from age 7 through high school. 

“We want to provide an opportunity for kids who normally wouldn’t be able to attend something like this and build up our youth and high school baseball programs,” said Park and Recreation Director Dean Hubbard, who will assist in the camp. 

Red Bay baseball coach Richard Maggerise is in charge of organizing and coordinating the upcoming event. He said he plans on reaching out to the other local high school baseball coaches to solicit assistant coaches. Cherokee Park and Recreation Director Troy Rutland and former baseball coach at Northwest-Shoals Community College Tony Shackleford will also be assisting Maggerise, along with Hubbard. 

“If we’re able to touch one kid’s life out of 200, that’s a huge accomplishment,” Maggerise said. 

Former players from the Major League Baseball Association who are members of the nonprofit MLBPAA will be present at the camp helping coach the participants on the fundamentals of baseball and good decision-making. These fundamentals are the same, Morrow said, as those Cunningham made an effort to instill during his years as a Red Bay coach. 

“I did my best to teach the boys the best I could about football and living. It didn’t matter where they came from,” Cunningham said. 

As of right now, there is no official registration start date, but it is coming soon.