Notable:
In the most-recent edition of Sports Illus
trated, “This Week’s Sign That the Apoca
lypse Is Upon Us” reads: “Dodge will pay
$1.4 million over the next four years to be
the official sponsor of the sports rivalry be
tween Oregon and Oregon State.”
^ My
parents are
really proud
... And this
is [my
' brothers’
and my]
dream, to
hopefully
make it to
the bigs. ”
Kevin Bass
Ems left fielder
Left fielder Kevin
Bass, Northwest
player of the week
for the week ending
July 4, hopes that
both he and his team
heat up again soon.
Catharine KendalVEmerald
Baseball
in the
Blood
Eugene left fielder Kevin Bass is the middle of
three brothers with major-league aspirations
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
For Emeralds’ left fielder
Kevin Bass, baseball is a fami
ly affair.
His older brother, Jayson, is
a sixth-year pro currently
playing outfield for the Rich
mond Braves, Atlanta’s
Triple-A affiliate.
Meanwhile Kevin, who is a 4
switch-hitter and the middle
Bass child, is in Eugene striv
ing to improve his game with
the Emeralds. As the Cubs’
third-round pick out of
Fayette County (Ala.) High
School in 1998, Kevin joined
Eugene this season after play
ing for the organization’s
rookie club in Mesa last sum
mer.
And Kevin’s little brother,
Bryan — still in high school
in Alabama — is also ex
pected to play professional
ly
If he does, then all three
Bass brothers will be scat
tered throughout baseball’s
pro ranks, chasing their big
league dreams and having a
nice time doing it.
“It’ll be neat,” Kevin Bass _
said. “My parents are real
proud. But really, they’re hap
py that we’re happy. And this
is our dream, to hopefully
make it to the bigs.”
So far, pro ball is every
thing that Bass expected it to
be, although he said he’d like
to help improve the Ems’ 10
14 record and last-place
standing.
“I’m en
joying it,”
Bass said.
“You just
wish you
could do
good every night, so that you
can please yourself and also
the fans that come out to
watch.”
As the Emeralds starting
left fielder, Bass has played
brilliantly for days at a time.
He’s had spells where he
produced one timely hit af
ter another while looking
completely comfortable in a
position that he only began
playing after arriving in the
pros.
For that period of produc
tion, he was awarded the
Northwest League player of
the week award for the week
Turn to BASS, Page 10
Duck coaches, athletes share
their winning ways
Soccer, tennis, volleyball and
track and field camps put on by
Oregon programs run this week
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
In addition to the 400 IntroDUCKtion stu
dents learning their way around campus
this week, up-and-coming athletes are also
on hand, getting schooled by Oregon coach
es and players in volleyball, track and field,
soccer and tennis.
While most of the youths participating in
this week’s camps aren’t prodigies, they’re
all taking advantage of a week of experi
enced mentoring to improve their skills and,
most importantly, to have a good time.
“It’s a learning camp,” women’s track and
field head coach Tom Heinonen said. “But
we want them to have fun. We want them to
learn about track and field and go away
from here with a greater appreciation of it
and a respect for what it takes to be really
good at track and field — for them to get re
ally excited about track and field.”
Oregon runs 15 different athletic camps
during the summer, four of which are in ef
fect this week.
The Nike Oregon volleyball camp, focus
ing on general skills and setters play, is the
first of three camps that Oregon head coach
Cathy Nelson and staff provide. It runs
through Thursday.
“It’s something we do every summer,”
Nelson said. “Four days and a lot of volley
ball., it’s a well-rounded camp. We do a
good job with our camp, so people like to
come back.”
The next general skills camp begins Sat
urday, and a “high-potential” camp aimed
at incoming college players starts July 22.
Oregon’s head tennis coaches, Chris Rus
sell and Jack Griffin, are also in charge of
separate camps.
This week they’re co-directors of the Nike
Oregon tennis camp, scheduled to run until
Friday. Next week they’ll conduct another
Sunday-through-Friday camp for kids rang
ing in age from 8 to 17.
“They’re cute” former Duck and current
camp counselor Jaime Martin said. “And
they were good [Sunday] night. They went
to bed on time with no problems.”
As is the case up the street at McArthur
Court, where the volleyball players are gath
ered, more players are enrolled in the tennis
camp this year than in years past.
Forty-nine kids are taking part this week.
It’s a noticeable increase, according to one
second-year camper.
“There’s a lot more kids this year,” 16
year-old Kari White said. “It’s a lot bigger.
It’s nice.”
Turn to CAMPS, Page 8
Catharine Kendall/Emerald
Camper Anne Neumann stretches to hit a groundstroke during a tennis exercise Monday afternoon. The tennis
camp is headed by Duck coaches Chris Russell and Jack Griffin.