Grays host dozens of local youths for annual baseball clinic

POCATELLO — Terry Fredrickson, owner of the Gate City Grays, was wandering Halliwell Field Wednesday afternoon, delivering water and Gatorade to coaches and players and interacting with many of the dozens of children attending the team’s youth baseball clinic.

He stopped to chat with infielder JD Gunderson and learned just how meaningful the clinic was to him as a kid.

“JD said it best,” Fredrickson told EastIdahoNews.com. “I was talking to him, and he said, ‘You know Terry, when I was this age, this meant the world to me.”

Gunderson grew up in Pocatello, and was one of the many kids who, as Fredrickson described, saw Grays players as “hometown heroes.” Now, he gets to see the journey from the other side, as a star infielder for the Grays instructing the clinic he once attended and handing down knowledge to kids who dream of following his path.

“This feels awesome,” Gunderson said. “It’s so cool to share this moment with them and, kind of, look back to when I was younger and see how special it is for them.”

Gate City is a member of the Northern Utah League, an independent semi-pro baseball league. The other teams of the NUL, Fredrickson explained, host a joint baseball clinic for kids in northern Utah. As the lone league members in Idaho, the Grays carry that torch in Pocatello.

According to Erica Fredrickson, half of the Grays’ husband-wife ownership teams, around 60 kids, ages 6 to 16, attended Wednesday evening’s clinic. The clinic, Erica added, was a regular summer attraction for area youth baseball players until COVID forced its cancellation in 2020.

It was brought back as an annual event three years ago.

This is a great opportunity, Terry said, not just for the local baseball community but for the Grays, as a way to thank “the best fans in the Northern Utah League.”

“This town gives those guys so much … and (the players) get a chance to give that back — a ‘thank you,'” he said.

More than just a thank you, though, Grays players dish out tips and useful instruction during the two-hour camp. Instructions, Gunderson told EastIdahoNews.com, that helped him “a lot” in growing from a young baseball player to a standout at Pocatello High School and the American Legion Runnin’ Rebels, to now a star for the Grays and freshman on the Oregon Institute of Technology.

As an attendee at the clinic, Gunderson explained, he developed a better understanding of the game and a deeper love for it. For that reason, it was easy to volunteer his time and serve as an instructor. And being part of the youngsters’ joy only makes it easier.

“My favorite part of this camp is seeing the smiles on their face — making their day.”