To say Coach Bobby Rodericks loves to chat about, promote, or enlighten me or anyone who will listen about his beloved East Providence sports would be a gross understatement. I am fairly certain that the new Dad petitioned his family to call his first born “Townie” or some derivative whether it was a boy or a girl. Bobby Rodericks, simply put, has a ton of East Providence pride and is not shy about it. Coach Rodericks has a gigantic resume of coaching football, wrestling, and of course as the Head Coach of East Providence High School baseball. He has coached AAU kids, he helps run an indoor facility (ATC) for strength and conditioning student athletes, and has been a camp coach in North Kingstown, East Greenwich, just to name a few in years passed. Bobby loves sports, loves the thrill of competition, is fiery and passionate about his players, and looks forward to helping the next generation of Townies prosper in the game of baseball. And I can personally attest to that statement after visiting Townie Baseball Camp this week.

Bobby was kind enough to extend an invitation for me to come up to Pierce Memorial Field, Amaral Field, and the field that bears his grandfather’s name – Rodericks Field, for a morning of what makes Townie Baseball Camp so special. After making a left onto Lyon Ave in East Providence and taking the short drive up towards the Field House Pub (interesting story there with the EPHS scoreboard painted on the walls), I spotted Mr. East Providence Baseball on his golf cart chatting with a camp parent. “This is how I can get from field to field quickly during camp,” Rodericks admitted to me as I pulled up next to him. I swung around, then parked and waited for Bobby to pick me up in the Field House Pub parking lot. Camp action was happening on Amaral Field in front of me so I stopped to take a few photos of the campers and camp coaches. “See those coaches,” Bobby pointed out as we shook hands and carted off towards Pierce, “those are my players, they play for me at East Providence,” referring to Jack McKnight and Elijah Barber. As it turned out, that was a common theme around the camp – Bobby’s players, past and present, all helping out at the camp.

“Ben Sears would have been here this year, except he is now playing for the Kansas City Royals organization,” touted Rodericks who coached the Rhode Island 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year at EPHS. Rodericks spoke at length about Sears, his recent success but also his journey. “Sears participated in this camp for years as a camper, then as a coach. Our kids, the camp kids are coached by East Providence High School players, my players. This camp is so important to this community every summer.” Every 10 feet, Rodericks would point out a coach or a player in the camp. “See that kid, his older brother plays for me. See that coach, he was my centerfielder in 2014.” I sat in the golf cart and just listened to the pride and excitement coming out of Coach Roderick’s East Providence baseball lecture. Around the fields and over to Pierce we went, stopping to greet some players and coaches along the way. The golf cart was a huge bonus for getting around the camp, as Bobby had pointed out earlier.

I asked Coach Rodericks about the age groups and how they were set up. “K – 2nd grade, 3rd & 4th, 5th & 6th graders,” Rodericks started, “pretty much age and development level to begin with. If we see a camper who is above average for their age or grade level, we will most likely move them up a level to get them so more advanced practices. The goal of course is having fun and we also want to encourage those players who are doing exceptional for their age to “play up” if they can.” On the big field, Pierce Memorial Field, middle school players alternating with high school players on situational work and live batting practice (pitcher, catcher, umpire). I met up with Coach Frank Duvall and we chatted about East Bay baseball and the Townie Camp. Then, I hopped out of the golf cart to catch some of the game action. As I was doing so, a collection of young campers had made their way into the “red” seats behind home plate and were also observing the older players. One very photogenic lad walked towards me as his mom called to him to “smile” for the camera. Very cool moment!

The heat index at the field was about 10 clicks higher than oppressive. Rodericks and his staff had cases and cases of water on hand for campers, staff, and whoever needed a cold drink. There was a lemonade truck in the parking lot at Pierce and players were taking full advantage of that during the day. “Plenty of breaks, get in the shade, get in the dugouts and out of the sun,” Bobby took the words right out of my mouth before I could ask about hydration and the heat. “We are not messing around, we know it is super hot out here,” as Bobby took a text from one of the camp coaches needing sunscreen. “I got some over here, let’s take a ride,” and I hopped back in the golf cart to go with Bobby on his sunscreen request. As we rode over to Rodericks Field, I asked him what he is trying to accomplish at this camp. “Bunting, situational hitting, driving the ball to the opposite field, good base running, how to tag runners in a rundown,” Coach said enthusiastically, “stuff that will win you ball games and help you not lose ball games if you know what I mean.” Bobby pointed to the small group in the field area just passed Rodericks Field. “It starts at that age level with a solid foundation, just teaching them how to play the game right. Then, the individual talent levels take over, but the foundation remains.” Rodericks pointed out a few more of his EPHS players/camp coaches, a fact I could tell he was very proud to promote.

More water, the search for a Band-Aid for a young fielder, and another loop around the fields put us back at the garage at Pierce. I asked Bobby what was the most Townie thing at this camp or at this field. He mentioned the “Pond Effect” which some have claimed robbed them of home runs due to the winds blowing in off the water. “Not true,” states Coach Rodericks, “the wind is really coming in from the ocean, which you can see on your drive in or out of this area of East Providence.” Coach Duvall chimed in his thoughts. “What about the Babe Ruth and Ted Williams sightings at Pierce Stadium?” The what? I said and with that Coach Rodericks and I sped off on the golf cart to the football stadium next to the baseball field. “I bring all my players over here to check this out,” said Bobby as he pointed to the plaque commemorating the appearances of Hall of Fame legends Babe Ruth and Ted Williams at Pierce Memorial Field, circa 1941. A very cool experience and here is the plaque:

Lunch time was approaching as we made one final swoop around the fields to say hi to the campers and coaches. Coach Rodericks would stop as needed to instruct at one of the fields. “Hey run him back to the bag, good now throw it, yeah he’s out!!!” I could sense the wheels were turning for Coach Rodericks watching the next crop of East Providence baseball stars catching, running the bases, hitting line drives to the opposite field, and pitching on the various camp stations throughout the camp’s many fields of play. We finished up at Amaral Field where we started and I watched a little more camp action before heading out. Bobby was a great host, a baseball story machine, and a proud East Providence Townie whose camp was well run, well attended, and very well received by all. Awesome trip to Townie Baseball Camp and what an education I got from my tour guide, Mr. Townie himself – Coach Bobby Rodericks.

Last note, I saw this mentioned on the ATC Townie Facebook page for anyone that is interested – “It’s not too late to come to camp for the remaining 3 days!!!! We will Pro-rate the camp fee for you at $75! We will accept all age groups but the 9th-12th grade level especially could definitely use more participants! (Hint hint to any Freshmen/JV/Varsity players not working or on vacation during those hours!” Click on the highlighted link about to be redirected to the ATC Townie Facebook page and message the camp if you are interested.