Young baseball and softball players from around the area will have the opportunity to receive instruction and advice from several qualified sources during the 2010 Winter Baseball Clinic hosted by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Wellness & Activities Authority.

The clinic, which will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 21 features seven instructors with different levels of experience ranging from Major League Baseball players to high school coaches.

Eddie Jackson said preparations for the clinic are on track.

“So far everything is going well,” Jackson said. “We are going all the way from Atmore to Brewton to Evergreen and Thomasville and back to Mobile to get the word out. We think we’ll have more than 100 kids participate.”

The big thing concerning the clinic is not the participants or the instructors because high-caliber instructors will be on hand. Weather conditions, however, are the biggest concern of organizers.

Jackson said the softball clinic was hurt last year due to poor weather.

“The last couple of years have gone well, but last year the softball clinic was down because the rain hurt us,” he said. “If the weather is nice, we expect our numbers to double.”

For those interested in participating in the clinic, the fee is $25 and includes lunch and a T-shirt.

Jackson said the positives for the participants of the clinic are everything from their meal to the instruction they will receive.

“The Top 2 things about the clinic is that they get lunch and they get a T-shirt,” he said. “They’ll also get to meet the instructors and introduce themselves. Hopefully, once all phases of the clinic have been completed maybe they’ll have learned something.”

Instructors for the clinic include Middle Tennessee State head coach Steve Peterson, former minor league manager Ricky Patterson, former MLB players Larry Thomas and Lance Johnson, former college player Kyle Davis, Washington High School head coach Nate Espy, Executive Director of the Alabama Baseball Association Barry Dean and former University of South Alabama player and coach Ron Litier.

For more information about the clinic call the Poarch Gym at 368-9136 Ext. 2256.