Things are quite American this week on the property behind the Scharmbeck shooting club. A large “V” has been provisionally drawn on the grass in chalk. About five meters away from it you can see a circle. This is supposed to represent the pitcher’s plate. From there the ball is thrown to the “station”. There are also three other large, white markings that represent the “bases” that the runners are heading for.
“Baseball is a batting ball game with two teams. The defenders bring a ball into play, which the attackers have to hit with a bat. If the ball is successfully hit, the attackers can score points by running down four bases. The defenders try to prevent this by throwing the batted ball to the base beforehand,” says Börge Weichert, explaining the basics of the game. Weichert is a member of the Free Church of Christ in Osterholz-Scharmbeck and brought the baseball week, which is taking place in the district town for the third time this year, to Osterholz-Scharmbeck.
Börge Weichert (left) has brought coach Mike Garst to Osterholz-Scharmbeck.
Photo: Carmen Jaspersen
“I got to know baseball when I was 12 in Aurich,” says Weichert. The baseball camp there was just one of many that the American Mike Garst has been holding in Germany for almost 25 years. He wants to get children and young people excited about the sport. And because Mike Garst made it his mission to send all of his baseball kids a birthday card, he and Weichert were still in touch when Börge Weichert was already an adult and active in his church community in Osterholz-Scharmbeck.
“In 2022, I asked Mike if he could offer a baseball camp in Osterholz-Scharmbeck,” says Wichert. And when Mike Garst realized that Osterholz-Scharmbeck was conveniently located between Vechta and Aurich, where baseball weeks were planned before and after the period requested by Weichert, he agreed. Along with 74-year-old Mike Garst, Caleb White with his daughter Avory and son McClaine also came to the district town, and Leslie Round and Arleen Heflin are also part of the American training team.
Mike Garst has been teaching his sport – baseball – to children and young people in Lower Saxony for years.
Photo: Carmen Jaspersen
Before they start playing, the children and young people first learn the basic techniques of baseball: hitting, throwing, catching. In addition, there is conditioning training, getting to know the rules, game strategies and how to deal with ground balls (when the hit ball hits the ground too quickly and then rolls) or fly balls (when the hit ball flies across the field).
Only then does the game begin. The goal is to score as many home runs as possible. Ten-year-old Jay Jay Reimann is the batter with his baseball bat. The pitcher is Mike Garst himself. Jay Jay hits the ball thrown to him well across the field and runs to first base, which is guarded by his sister Lala (13 years old). Before Jay Jay has even reached the safety of the base, however, one of the fielders has caught his ball and thrown it to Lala, who casually fishes the ball out of the air. This prevents Jay Jay from “getting” the base. “Whoo, whoo, whoo! Good catch!” resounds the praise across the field and Lala is happy that she has given her team an advantage.
English lessons included
This is already the fourth baseball camp for Jay Jay and the fifth for Lala. “We always used to go to Aurich,” say the two, who came from Oerbke to Osterholz-Scharmbeck with their father Gordon Reimann and their neighbor, 16-year-old Chayen Forshaw, who is attending for the first time. “The journey to Osterholz-Scharmbeck is shorter than to Aurich, I’m really happy that the baseball camp is now taking place here too,” says Gordon Reimann.
The three teenagers are having a lot of fun at the camp, playing and being part of the team. “You also learn English at the same time,” says Lala mischievously. The three think it’s great that they literally talk about everything under the sun during the breaks. “It’s important that we all treat each other kindly. We practice that here,” confirms Börge Weichert and laughs.
The date for the fourth baseball camp next year has already been set: From July 14 to 18, 2025, there will be throwing, hitting, running, catching and talking about God and the world. Registration for the camp will then be possible at www.christuskirche-ohz.de.
Down to business
American baseball developed from European round-robin variants of the 18th century. Emigrants brought the game to the United States, where the current rules were developed in the mid-19th century. In addition to the United States, baseball is particularly popular in parts of Latin America and East Asia. There are now also baseball clubs in Germany that play in the regional or national league, just like in soccer. The Bremen Dockers, for example, play in the second baseball league.
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2024-07-04 14:10:52
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