Bulldog Baseball Camp still providing sizzle

BURBANK — Perhaps the 10th installment of the Bulldog Baseball Camp occurred at an opportune time.

With many local players focused on competing in Little League postseason tournaments across Southern California, some of them found time in their busy schedules to flock to the camp to further grasp fundamentals from a longtime Burbank resident.

Burbank High baseball Coach Bob Hart had about 25 participants sprawled out on the Burbank High field working on hitting and fielding drills and more during the week-long camp that began July 11 and wrapped up Friday.

“It’s a good week to have the camp,” said Hart, who has coached at Burbank since 2005. “We go over a lot of things and give them oral evaluations at the end of each day. They get a lot out of what we tell them and that can help them going forward.

“We have a group, including my assistants and former and current players, here to talk to them on the principal aspects from being good teammates to learning the mental part of the game. They get to take part in scrimmages, so they can see what they learned each day.”

The camp, geared for ages 11-14, attracted mostly Burbank residents. Hart, who guided Burbank to a fourth-place finish in the Pacific League before advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs last season, held the Junior Bulldog Camp for ages 6-11 earlier in July.

Hart, a Burroughs High graduate, said the participants are eager to learn.

“There’s a lot of things that you can pick up,” said Hart, a longtime coach in the Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department. “Not just entirely on drills, but learning about discipline.

“We put them through a good workout, but they get to have a lot of fun at the same time. You like to see and hear about them improving.”

Several Little League players were on hand at the camp, including Daniel Neria and Joseph Estrada. Neria is a member of the Burbank 10-11 All-Star team that won the District 16 championship. Estrada played on the Burbank Major All-Star squad.

Neria, 12, appeared at the camp for the third straight summer.

“You come here to learn about the basic mechanics of the game, from throwing to hitting correctly,” said Neria, a student at Burbank Luther Middle School. “You learn how to form a good work ethic.

“You can take so many things from here and apply it to your game situations. You always want to be at your best.”

Estrada, who attends John Muir Middle School, attended the camp for the second time in the last three years.

Estrada, 12, said there’s no shortage in learning from an experienced coach such as Hart, who led the Bulldogs to a share of the league championship in 2013.

“You have to be willing to put in the time and effort,” Estrada said. “You can pick up on what they are telling you and it will make a big difference.

“They give you a lot of great information, so you are in position to succeed.”