Brian Trupiano demonstrates fielding.

Fielding was one of three baseball skills taught by former professional ballplayers to more than one hundred boys and girls who attended last month's baseball clinic put on by the Plymouth River Eels.

Trupiano, a former catcher and infielder with the Brockton Rox, joined Jason LaRocque, a former scout and bullpen catcher for the Boston Red Sox, and Devon Teeple, a left-handed pitcher who played for the Gateway Grizzlies and River City Rascals of the Frontier League, as instructors for the River Eels event.  

“The baseball clinic went very well,” noted Trupiano following the event. “It was great to see these kids so excited about learning more about baseball. You could tell from the turnout of players and their parents that everyone is excited about baseball and to have professional baseball come to Plymouth.”

Dave Bluestein brought his two sons from Sharon to the clinic. “The quality of the teaching was incredible,” he said. “The guys spent some time with the kids and showed them more drills and more ideas than they usually learn in little league. It was a real eye opener, especially for my 10-year old son Andrew.” 

LaRocque, a native of Methuen, Mass., also traveled in for the clinic from Washington DC, where he coaches a high school team. “The River Eels put on a quality clinic for the youth and families in the community. I was proud to be a part of it,’ he said. Teeple, who hails from St. Catharine’s, Ontario, agreed. Coming from Canada and an eight-hour drive was very exhausting, but being able to have a successful camp, with great promotion for the team, was well worth the journey.”

LaRocque also led a lecture on the science of baseball after the clinic. Both adults and children were treated to a slice of the MIT Science of Baseball summer program for which he taught last summer Cambridge.

Held in the event room at Colony Place shopping center in Plymouth, the clinic was a part of Colony Place’s Hometown Sports Day. All of the programs at the event, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods , were free and open to the public. Also featured at the event was a demonstration by online auction service provider auctionPAL , which aids people who don’t have the time or knowledge to use such services as ebay. Circuit CityWBZ NewsRadio and the Boston Bruins sponsored the appearance of Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts, who signed autographs and took photos with the kids. New England Hot Dog gave away free hot dogs at the event. Colony Place retailers Dick’s, Michael’s Arts & Crafts and Village Vineyards hosted information and promotional tables.  allowed visitors to test a Nintendo Wii system and play virtual baseball.

The River Eels would also like to thank Middleborough Little League and On Cranberry Pond Bed & Breakfast in Middleborough for their assistance in the event.

“They did a great job of combining fun with information,” said Karin Soderlund of Middleborough, who brought her sons Ian, age 12, and Cody, age 8. “Ian really liked the idea that the pitching coach [Teeple] also talked about the role of catcher. Ian's position is catcher so it gave him something different because they very rarely talk about catching at any clinics.  So that was a real plus for him. Cody was just so excited to get back to baseball anything! Thanks for the opportunity to get involved with the players!”