RIPON, Wis. – What better way to learn the techniques and strategies of the game of baseball than from the

17-time Midwest Conference Champion Ripon Red Hawks. That is just what 10 local kids have experienced this week, as they've taken part in the 2008 youth summer baseball camp, which is the first of its kind to be held at Ripon College.

The camp, which is being held from June 16-20, is open to kids from third to eighth grade and is being instructed by Ripon assistant coach Eric Cruise, with help from assistant coach Jack Frank and several current and former Red Hawk players, including pitcher Mike Lloyd, shortstop Brett Wegner, and former Red Hawk pitcher Bryant Bednarek.

Each day of the camp is a new learning experience, with different skills taught each day. The campers have received instruction on baserunning, how to field a ground ball, the basics of hitting and bunting, and the proper way to play catch, among other things.

"We're trying to teach the kids how to do the basics and introduce them to the game and how it really works," Cruise said. "If they watch it on television, they see a different game with the home runs and strikeouts, but they don't really see what the game is all about."

Most of the kids in the camp are also playing baseball in a summer league this year, which means they are learning twice as much and are able to hone their skills moreso than other kids their age.

"It's fantastic because they're getting top-notch instruction from the coaches and players at this camp that they wouldn't necessarily get in their summer leagues," Cruise said. "When I was their age, the varsity coach at the high school ran the same type of camp, where we got to learn about baseball and have fun, while enjoying a good week of nothing but baseball, which is what I wanted to do for the kids in our camp."

Ripon College has had camps for high schoolers in the past, and will have another this Fall, but this youth camp is a brand new venture, and is one that the coaches hope will continue each summer. They are also hoping for the amount of kids participating to increase in the future.

"It's the first year of the camp, so we still need to get the word out a little more. Hopefully this camp will grow in the upcoming years where we can get 50 or 60 kids to participate," said Cruise.