Youth Baseball / Softball Camps

2020 CAMPS UPDATE

We are committed to providing the best Tigers Baseball/Softball Camp experience for your athlete this summer. While we put a high value on the quality of instruction, we place an even higher value on the safety of all the kids and staff. We promise to put on a first-class camp that will operate within appropriate safety guidelines as determined by the State of Michigan.

Please read this document for a detailed description of how 2020 Tigers Camps may be different from the description on the website.

Welcome to the Official Site of the Detroit Tigers Baseball/Softball Camps

Any boy or girl who has ever picked up a bat, a ball and dared to dream the dream will find these week-long camps about as close to Tigers baseball heaven as they can get to being their favorite Tigers players.

Tigers Territory loves its baseball and softball. From tee-ball to travel ball, this is truly one of the nation's great hotbeds for these wonderful games. As a professional baseball organization, the Detroit Tigers have so much to share with the tens of thousands of players, parents and coaches who love baseball and softball as much as we do!

Finally, we have the perfect vehicle to share what we know with you.

Our promise is to create a world class Detroit Tigers Baseball Experience that will create lifelong memories for every boy and girl who joins us. Read on and see why this summer could be the best summer ever for your young player.

Camp Philosophy

Camp Culture

Kids will come to camp who have never played ball before and kids will come to camp who may someday have a chance to play for real at Comerica Park. Some kids will come just to meet a Tigers player and others to become a Tiger. Regardless, we owe all players the camp experience of a lifetime. And we won't settle for anything less. We will work to deliver the camp experience of a lifetime to all of our campers.

It is important to understand that we place a high value on having fun and our idea of having fun is helping each athlete who wants to get better, do just that. We will work hard. Tigers Baseball Camps is an honest-to-goodness baseball/softball camp where we expect everyone to be better on Friday than when they came to us on Monday. Now THAT'S fun.

Our camp staff will be off the charts with baseball and softball smarts and unbridled passion to share it with your kids. We know the game, but we also know that our passion for instruction needs to be blended with competition and fun. The kids will receive great exposure and instruction wrapped up in a Tigers experience that they will never forget.

The Curriculum

At each Tigers Camp we use a progressive system of hitting, throwing and fielding. Depending on how well the groups achieve the various steps in our teaching progression, we will advance the curriculum to match that progress. Drills and methodologies reflect the latest baseball scientific data and are consistent with teaching modalities used in the Detroit Tigers Major and Minor League systems.

Safety. Safety. Safety.

How can we have a camp with six year-olds and 14 year-olds? Great question. Look at it this way. A K-8 school does not have second graders and eighth graders in P.E. or math class together. They may pass in the hallways, take the same bus and be in the same yearbook but they are not in class together. Get the picture? At Tigers Baseball Camp, they will not be in "class" together either.

Not all players of the same age have equal ability. For safety reasons and because it facilitates the best learning environment, players will be grouped by age and ability. These "teams" will then stay together throughout the week with the same coach. There will be cross-pollination of instructors but we have found that the bonds created between teammates and their primary coach is one of the truly special dynamics at camp.

And yes, at our instructors' discretion, tennis balls, whiffle balls and safety balls will be used liberally at camp. Of course, we will use regulation baseballs and softballs but fear-free confidence is a critical foundation for fun and learning success.

Travel Player??? We're Ready For You Too!

Pardon our boasting but there isn't much the Detroit Tigers don't know about baseball. There are some reasons that travel players will give for not attending camp. There are so many more reasons why they should.

The bottom line is that no matter how good you are or how good you want to be, we have a curriculum and instructors who will get you ready for that night's game or next weekend's big tourney.

We understand that travel ballplayers' schedules can be hectic in the summer. We will protect your arm if you are scheduled to pitch and you can take it easy if you've got the "big" game that night. Give us a week and you will improve, no matter your current level of play.

Instruction

Instructors

Never underestimate the value of a great coach. Our instructors mandate is to "teach and to reach." Great teachers can be game changers in our kids' lives. Great baseball and softball coaches are the same.

We carefully select, screen, train and monitor our instructors. Then we encourage them to unleash all the passion and creativity they can muster.

Each camp day for your child should be a masterpiece. These coaches get that…and they love it.

The bottom line? The men and women entrusted with the training of your kids are as good as they come. We promise.

Every instructor will undergo a thorough background check and will be "SafeSport Trained" as required by Major League Baseball.

Tigers Coach at Camp

On one of the camp days, the kids will be bussed to Comerica Park where they will meet up with a Tigers coach. The kids will be introduced to some of the fascinating and behind-the-scenes aspects of "game day" in the Big Leagues. What a great and unique experience.

Video Motion Analysis

Much of what happens in the baseball/softball swing happens too fast to be tracked by the human eye. To ignore the value of video in the teaching process is a mistake that we won't make. Every camper's swing will be recorded and compared to Miguel Cabrera. We have found this to be a terrific way to extend the learning experience from the camp to home to the diamond. This video analysis will be emailed following the summer season.

An Amazing Tigers Experience

What You Get

Every camper will be given a full, MLB quality Detroit Tigers uniform (jersey, pants, hat and belt). If you are going to train like a major leaguer, might as well dress like one.
Four Tigers tickets to one of several Tigers Camper Reunion games.
Keepsake graduation certificate commemorating the inaugural year of the Detroit Tigers Baseball Camp.
Returning campers will receive a unique commemorative patch to proudly display on his/her new uniform.

Guest Appearance

Every camp will have a guest appearance by a current Tigers player. A current Tigers coach will participate in every camp.

V.I.P Day Trip to Comerica Park for a behind-the-scenes experience

On one of the five camp days, campers will be transported by bus to Comerica Park for a day we are sure they will never forget. Imagine sitting in the dugout just hours before Miguel Cabrera and JaCoby Jones walk out of the tunnel. Or toeing the bullpen rubber shortly before Michael Fulmer. Wow. Campers will have their picture taken in the dugout with a Tigers player and their Tigers Camp team. How cool is that?! Buses will depart Comerica Park at approximately 2 PM and return campers to their camp location.

Skills Competition with Champions' Day at Comerica Park

Kids love to compete so we've made sure they have an opportunity to strut their competitive stuff while using the very skills we will be teaching them at camp. Every camper will participate in a baseball or softball Skills Competition. Each week, scores will be posted on the website and after the last camp, the top scores will be invited to the Champions Day Finals at Comerica Park. Boys and girls will compete separately in appropriate grade groups.

The Tigers Baseball Camps are proud to be part of the Detroit Tigers Foundation, an affiliate of Ilitch Charities. Camp proceeds support the Foundation's mission of enhancing lives through the game of baseball with a focus on youth, education and recreation.

Have other questions about Tigers Baseball & Softball Camps?

Contact Tim Rappé by email or phone below.