Local athletes that took part in Saturday’s free baseball camp at the Dallas County Sportsplex learned the fundamentals of the game, but also left with a spiritual message as well.

The camp was hosted by All in Sports Outreach, a nonprofit ministry that uses sports to bring people together. About 50 boys took part in the camp, which was for ages 7-12 years old.

“It’s so rewarding to be able to give back to these kids and to have some knowledge to share about the game of baseball and about Jesus Christ also,” said Adrian Holloway, who serves on the board of directors for All in Sports and is the head baseball coach at Selma University.  “Working these camps is something near and dear to my heart because I’m from Selma and this is a community. Anything I can give back to my community is a plus for me.”

Jamie Tellier organized the camp for All in Sports. Tellier said many of the campers Saturday were in the younger age groups, which allowed coaches to work on more of the basics.

A few of the players who took part have never played organized baseball, and Tellier said that’s a positive thing.

“It’s really good that their experience with baseball is a camp where they don’t feel out of place,” Tellier said. “We are going over everything and treating everybody like they haven’t played before to try to see where they’re at, so later on down the road we can make them better.”

All in Sports is planning to host a softball camp later this year, although no official date has been set. Tellier said All in Sports is looking at a possible date in December.