Valley Blue Sox Youth Clinic gets underway Monday in Greenfield

GREENFIELD — For the second year in a row, Valley Blue Sox players are giving back to the community in Greenfield.

The Blue Sox held the first day of its youth clinic on Monday at Lunt Field in Greenfield, with the clinic doubling in numbers from the previous year.

With the Blue Sox scheduled to face Martha’s Vineyard Monday night, Valley Blue Sox pitchers Jack Wajda, Andrew Basel and Bryan Matuschat were there running the clinic while more players are expected to be there Tuesday.

“It’s nice being able to give back to the community,” Wajda said. “I was in these kids’ shoes at one point in time and looking up to them. It’s nice coming out and giving back.”

All three players shared that sentiment, knowing just how much they looked up to the people running these clinics when they were kids attending them.

“It’s an honor being in the shoes of the camp counselor instead of the person in the camp,” Basel said. “I remember looking up to them as a kid and thinking those were the people I wanted to be like. Being able to be that person for these kids and be a role model is great. Especially seeing some of the kids that we see at our games.”

On a hot day on Monday, the players made sure to keep things lighter during the three-hour session, working on drills while also mixing in competitive games.

“We took them through a couple of drills,” Wajda said. “It’s pretty hot out here so you want to make sure they all stay hydrated but I think we had a pretty competitive little game going on now. It’s been fun.”

With the camp rising in numbers from last summer to this year, Wajda credited Franklin County’s YMCA in Greenfield for helping organize and advertise for the clinic.

“A lot of that is the work the YMCA put into it,” Wajda said. “They’re the ones who advertised and recruited to get the kids here. They let us use their facilities for free so coming out here and giving back to the community is the least we can do.”

It was an especially rewarding experience for Wajda, Basel and Matuschat as the three have been living in Greenfield while competing with the Blue Sox.

The trio live together and say they’ve enjoyed the experience thus far.

“It’s awesome and different,” Basel said. “I’ve never done it before. We all played in summer leagues last year but I lived by myself. Having someone else to live with and go to the games together is great.”

Wajda, from Illinois, pitched for Murray State this past season, Basel, from New York, pitches at Northeastern while Matuschat, from New Jersey, throws for Sacred Heart.

The Blue Sox have just three Massachusetts players on their team this summer, with the team spread out from all over the country.

Matuschat noted how great that has made this summer experience, getting to live with and play with players from different backgrounds.

“The cool thing is we have guys from California, guys from Georgia, guys from Texas,” Matuschat said. It’s pretty cool meeting everybody. Going from my team at school where 90 percent of the guys are from New England, New York or New Jersey, it’s different. You’re going from a New England team to a really diverse team which I find really cool. It’s fun to see the similarities and how even though guys are from all over, they still play the same way.”