Gilmer High entered its third week of summer baseball as the Bobcats look to replace graduated starters in its varsity lineup.
GHS head coach Jeff Thurman and staff started their offseason preparations June 6, and player participation has been in the low 20s through the first 2 1/2 weeks.
“In June, you have some kids who are going out of town and some who are playing some other sports,” Thurman said. “We lost a pretty big senior class compared to seasons past, and those guys are going to be greatly missed. Filling some of those holes has been one of our goals this summer to see what we’ve had coming back. We’ve had a really good summer so far.”
In addition to filling out the varsity roster with starters and capable backups, summer is also a time for Thurman to set the building blocks for the program while everyone gets acquainted.
“We want to build our culture, and that seems like our start every summer. Building that culture for next year starts in June,” Thurman said.
“That’s been a primary goal, and the next thing is we have a big freshman class coming in with nine or 10 who are participating in our summer program. I don’t know a whole lot about those guys so a big part of this is getting to know those freshmen and where we need to put them position wise. Plus, they’re getting to know us as well.”
The Bobcats’ summer schedule has been split between scrimmages and practices. Each of the two scrimmages thus far has been a double header. The varsity has taken the field first with younger Bobcats playing in game two.
Each game is limited to an hour and 40 minutes, and teams are free to make as many substitutions as they wish. The older group of players defeated Adairsville (2-1) and Fannin County (11-8), while the younger Cats lost by respective scores of 7-0 and 8-5.
“We’re playing really well right now, and I’m pleased with how they’re doing. It’s been some really competitive games, but even with our older group, we’re playing a lot of sophomores,” Thurman said. “They’ve been stepping up, and I’m real pleased with the direction they’re going. I believe we have a bright future for next year. We definitely have something we can work with.”
Thurman praised rising seniors Carter Jones, Bryson Daniel and Marcello Valle, as well as sophomores Eli Cooper and Hayden Berry for their performances and effort over the summer.
“We’ve been playing extremely well defensively in both the infield and outfield,” Thurman said. “Our young pitching staff has been doing well just throwing strikes. It’s been a pretty good combination for that older group.”
GHS players and coaches hosted their youth camp last week and 72 attended, which Thurman believes is the most they have ever had.
Gilmer players also attend a camp at Berry College every summer, but those plans took a turn when not enough teams signed up. Rather than traveling, Thurman opted to host a local camp Friday and Saturday.
Thurman plans to bring in GHS alumni and former college players Mark West, Derek Brewer, Forrest Bramlett and Brooks Rosser, as well as Doug Lofland of the Hitting Lab to give players different perspectives.
“We’re bringing in those five guys to be hands on with our players. Our guys get coached up by us plenty, and I wanted to give them that experience of having other guys coach them like we usually do at Berry,” Thurman said. “We are really looking forward to that, and we’ll probably have five practices over those two days.”
The Bobcats will be on the field for their final practice of the summer next Monday, and they will host Union County for a double header Tuesday starting at 5:30 p.m.