The annual Justin Henry baseball camp is this Saturday and will provide a day of fun and learning on the diamond for young baseball players in Vicksburg.

The camp is open to children in grades K-7 at Halls Ferry Park, from noon to 3 p.m. The cost is $55, which includes lunch and entry in a raffle for an assortment of baseball equipment. The proceeds from the camp will benefit the Vicksburg Family Development Service.

A minicamp for children ages 4 and 5 will be held from 11 to 11:45 a.m., and costs $25.

The camp will feature a large group of former college and professional baseball players who have Vicksburg ties. They’ll lead the participants through drills and help them with their game.

There will be five stations set up to help with throwing mechanics, fielding, hitting and baserunning.

“We’ll actually have two hitting stations, one where they’re working on the fundamentals, hitting off a tee, and then another one where they are actually hitting, live balls being thrown to them,” Henry explained. “The last station will be running the bases. Just talking about the proper techniques and the form to have in situations that would arrive within a game, and how to handle those situations on the bases.”

Preceding the camp will be the minicamp, which is more of an introduction to baseball.

“They’ll hit off the tee, they’ll work on throwing and running the bases,” Henry said. “It’s kind of a way for some younger age kids to also get involved, and just doing it in a little shorter time frame, where we can hopefully keep their attention spans for that amount of time.”

For Henry, the camp is a way to give back to the community, not only through baseball, but by raising money for Vicksburg Family Development Service, which his mother-in-law runs.

Henry starred at Vicksburg High and then Ole Miss before playing minor league baseball for eight seasons in the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox organizations. He is now a scout for the Tigers.

“Baseball has been a huge part of my life,” Henry said. “I think it’s such a great tool for learning about sports, obviously, but also about life. When we started this camp we wanted to give back to the community from the area of life that I was most knowledgeable with, but also with my mother-in-law’s organization. That’s something that’s obviously close to the family, so I wanted it to be a fundraiser for them as well. It’s worked out well. It’s been a good partnership, and hopefully it’s one that will continue for many years to come.”

Vicksburg Family Development Service is dedicated to the development of children from an early age, and to support them as they face tougher challenges as they get older.

“It’s about promoting good choices in life, making positive choices that will affect you in a positive way moving forward so you can put yourself in the best position to be successful growing up,” Henry said.
Each attendee will receive one ticket for the raffle, and additional tickets can be purchased. The camp’s sponsors, Marucci and Mizuno, are providing equipment for prizes.

Henry was excited to hold the camp again this year.

“My favorite thing is, bringing the kids together in the very beginning and seeing the excitement they have and being out there, and having a great time and learning about baseball, and also just having fun,” Henry said.

JUSTIN HENRY BASEBALL CAMP:
• Saturday, 11 a.m., at Halls Ferry Park
• Cost is $25 for children aged 4-5, and $55 for children in grades K-7
• Registration is available at vwaabaseball.org or by calling 601-638-1336. All proceeds benefit Vicksburg Family Development Service
• The camp will feature instruction from former college and professional baseball players, and will be led by Detroit Tigers scout and former Ole Miss star Justin Henry