The Lions baseball team offered its first “Father/Son Camp” to help build relationships between fathers and sons on and off the field.

30 father and son pairs signed up to learn more about baseball techniques from university coaches on Nov. 19 at Alumni Field.

Baseball Head Coach Matt Riser explained why he decided to start the camp.

“I’ve emulated some other programs and got some really good feedback from other programs that have done it and experienced it, so I wanted to do the same thing,” said Riser. “I’m a dad of two. I got a 3 year old and a 1 year old, so I wanted to give the experience to our community as well.”

Participants practiced baseball drills on the field and toured the athletic facilities such as the weight room.

“We had a great turnout as we maxed out our capacity on the camp,” said Riser. “We have some really good coaches out here to help them get oriented. The golden rule is to have fun, and it’s a great time to bring father and son together.”

2010 Alumnus Cole Catalano, who previously played on the baseball team, shared his thoughts on the camp.

“In this sort of program, I think it’s the relationship between a father and son is what’s most important,” said Catalano. “You know, to have them out here together working on the basic fundamentals of baseball is really what’s it all about.”