By David Fleet
Editor
Brandon Twp.-Baseball is a tough sport.
“To be really good you need to enjoy the game, and have some fun,” said Greg Glover, a veteran high school and AAA travel baseball coach with more than 20 years of experience. “When a kid is not able to be successful he quits and does not go back to baseball.”
Glover along with his son Jake, a former collegiate baseball standout will host a camp to teach some of the necessary skills to succeed at the game.
From 6-8 p.m., July 27 and 28 the Brandon Township Parks & Recreation will host 2021 Baseball Skills Camp for boys 9-12 years old at the Sherman Memorial Park Community Fields, 150 Cedar St., Ortonville. The cost of the camp is $20 for residents and $30 for non-residents of the township. The deadline is July 20. Participants should bring their baseball mitt, batting helmet, and a bottle of water to each session. Cleats and bats are also recommended. The camp is designed for players to develop personal skills, and the learn the fundamentals of fielding, batting and pitching techniques.
Former collegiate pitcher and infielder, Jake Glover, 24, was a Brandon High School student and 2015 graduate of Waterford Our Lady of The Lakes was highly recruited by junior colleges following high school.
“College baseball is rough,” said Jake. “Having pitched and played middle infielder in college the commitment required to play at that level is intense. But, I liked it and was willing to put in the time. You have to put the work in with the team and outside of the team practices to make it happen.”
Jake played for Santa Barbara College, California, before returning to join the Delta College team in Michigan. In 2019, he relocated to North Carolina where he started at second base for the High Point Highlanders of the Old North State League. Glover was then traded to the Triad Tribe and helped lead the team to second in the league with a 20-6 record and the Old North State League championship. He was also selected to the ONSL All Star Team. He completed his college baseball career at Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Fla.

“Fundamentally many of the youth who are starting to play baseball today are behind,” said Coach Glover. “They are being coached by dads and grandfathers and those who are not up-to-date on what it takes to get to that next level required for success at the game. What our youth do now become ‘muscle memory.’”
Glover’s coaching career included stints as Varsity Head Coach of Our Lady of the Lakes, JV and youth league program; AAA Travel Coach who led the Lakes Area Dodgers to the Little League World Series and the BC Hawks AAA Travel team winning the North Oakland Baseball Federation including two consecutive undefeated seasons.
Glover said that if youth are not taught the fundamentals at an early age it will cost them at the next level.
“From 9 to 12 years old is the proper age to learn the correct fundamentals to be successful,” he said. “If not the game of baseball will pass you by.”