While the Troy Coach Pitch tournament team has had to practice all over Troy to get ready for the District Tournament this Friday, head coach Chris Campbell has been busy preparing and teaching his 7- and 8-year-old players the game of baseball.

“It has been a lot of fun,” Campbell said. “We have a great group of kids. They have really adapted well to what we are trying to do, from hitting off the coach to learning new positions.”

One of the major challenges for the coaches is being able to field a lineup that gives the team the best chance to win. Even though teams have a crop full of good players, many teams are not able to put those players in the position they are accustomed to playing. Campbell said his team had been adapting well to position changes.

“Most of these kids are infield players, and they have had to learn to play the outfield,” Campbell said. “They have done a really good job.”

To date, the Coach Pitch Team has played in three warm-up tournaments.

The offense has come around over the last week, and Campbell believes that will be the key to success this weekend.

“Over the last week, we have really developed into a really good hitting team,” Campbell said. “As a matter of fact we have more than one kid that could probably at least rattle the cage of the fence.”

Campbell has quite a few players that have extensive experience playing at the All-Star level, something that he and his coaching staff will fall back on.

“Being 7- and 8-year-old players, we have had to make things simple and easy for them,” Campbell said. “I really try to not over complicate the game. A lot of times if you do that, it will get you beat.”

After all the dust settles, the importance of the summer for Campbell stretches far beyond the win loss record.

“We try our best to know matter if we win or lose to hold our head high and do things that we believe will honor God,” Campbell said. “I believe that should be a centerpiece in all of our lives.”

The 2015 Coach Pitch Tournament roster includes Jackson Boothe, Luke Barron, Cooper Campbell, Joshua Hooten, Ford Hussey, Dalton Jordan, Blake Lowery, Jadarien McGhee, Tyler McLendon, Connor Sikes, Luke Sikes and Chase Vaznain.

Bobby Hussey, Steve Barron and Brian McLendon join Campbell on the coaching staff.