By Kalvin D. Perron
Staff Reporter
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BAY MILLS - A typical Christmas Day for 14-year-old Shane Cameron would usually consist of sifting through a heaping pile of presents, hanging out with his family, and eating as much food as his teenage stomach will allow. This year, however, instead of lounging around lazily as the tryptophan from his Grandma Joanne's turkey induces him to sleep, Cameron will be soaring high above the Atlantic Ocean on his way to the Dominican Republic.
Cameron was chosen, with 11 others, to represent the region as part of the United States Baseball Stars team. His team will compete against the best teams from the Dominican Republic for one week during Christmas Break.
Cameron, who has only been playing baseball for four years, knows how lucky he is to be throwing baseballs in a tropical paradise at a time he would usually be throwing snowballs in sub-zero temperatures. Needless to say, Cameron acknowledges that this year's Christmas will be unlike any he has ever known.
Cameron, who has only been playing baseball for four years, knows how lucky he is to be throwing baseballs in a tropical paradise at a time he would usually be throwing snowballs in sub-zero temperatures. Needless to say, Cameron acknowledges that this year's Christmas will be unlike any he has ever known.
Cameron, who has only been playing baseball for four years, knows how lucky he is to be throwing baseballs in a tropical paradise at a time he would usually be throwing snowballs in sub-zero temperatures. Needless to say, Cameron acknowledges that this year's Christmas will be unlike any he has ever known.
"I'm pretty excited," Cameron said of his unique opportunity to showcase his pitching skills in the Dominican Republic. "It's going to be really weird not being at home for Christmas, but I know how lucky I am to be going. It feels good to be able to represent Bay Mills."
Although Cameron earned a spot on this year's U.S. Baseball Stars team for his performance at a tryout at Western Michigan's Sutherland field on Aug. 21, he was unsuccessful when he tried out for the team last year. According to Shane's father, Carl Cameron, Jr., a broken leg he suffered playing baseball may have been a factor in taking his son's game to a new level.
After returning to work at the Bay Mills Resort and Casino from a layoff as a result of his broken leg, Cameron, Jr., met a woman by the name of Judy Kreiner.
During their conversation, Kreiner happened to ask Cameron how he had broken his leg. When she learned that he had broken it playing in a game of baseball, she told him that she had learned a little about the game of baseball from her husband.
Her husband, Dean Kreiner, as fate would have it, was a baseball coach and a very good baseball coach at that. In his 40 years of coaching at Central Michigan University, Kreiner was voted the NCAA's Mid-American Conference Division I Coach of the Year six times (1985-1988, 1990, and 1993), NCAA's Mid-East Regional Coach of the Year four times (1985-1988, and 1995), and amassed a win/loss record of 516-282. Not only did Kreiner bring his CMU Chippewas to seven NCAA playoff berths in his 14 years as their head coach, but also coached 37 pitchers who went on to play professional baseball.
Since Kreiner, who retired in 1998, and his wife often make the trip to Bay Mills from their home in Mt. Pleasant, he agreed to work out with Shane when he was in the area. He said he has already seen a difference in Shane's pitching between their first meeting in early July and their last visit in the middle of September.
"He's gotten much better," Kreiner said of Cameron's progression since taking him under his wing. "He's throwing the ball a lot harder and his curveball is much better. I can work with him on his technique, but it is still going to be up to him to want to get better. He's still going to have to put forth the effort."
So far, Kreiner has met with Cameron four times, focusing primarily on his pitching from the "stretch" position and schooling him on proper pitching techniques. With Kreiner schooling Cameron on the fundamentals of pitching, his family, uncles Ian LeBlanc and George Belleau, and father Cameron, Jr., have been giving their time to help prepare him for the trip. In addition to his pitching instruction and regimen, Cameron has begun weight training and running, as well, to prepare for his trip to the Dominican Republic. While he is eager to represent Bay Mills in a U.S. Baseball Stars uniform, Cameron said his ultimate goal is to get a baseball scholarship at Western Michigan University and go on to play professional baseball.
"Baseball is just fun for me," Cameron said. "I love playing it. It feels pretty good to have [Dean Kreiner] helping me out. I've learned a lot from him. My ultimate goal is to get a full scholarship to Western Michigan University."
Although Cameron is slated to leave in a couple of months on Christmas morning, his father said there is still much work left to do. He, along with other members of Shane's family, are attempting the arduous task of raising the $5,800 it will cost to send him and his mother, Crystal Frazier, on the trip. With the community rallying behind his son, Cameron, Jr., said he does not think that goal will be very hard to attain.
"So far Shane has done all the work," he said. "I'm glad he wants to do this, but I would be proud of him, regardless. Everyone seems to be very supportive and proud of him. He's going to make us all proud."
