Robert Sapp, one of Georgia’s legendary baseball coaches, is in his fourth decade of conducting youth baseball camps. While kids and the game have changed a great deal Sapp’s philosophy and what he wants to teach hasn’t. “I started doing camps in 1981,” Sapp said. “We stress fundamentals in the morning and we play games in the afternoon with instruction.
“Kids don’t want to work on fundamentals,” Sapp said. “Hopefully, we work with them and teach them the way to play the game and enjoy it.
“We want them to have fun. We want to make it ‘play ball’, not ‘work ball’. When it’s work ball they don’t enjoy it that much.”
Sapp’s “Play Ball With A Home Field Advantage” camp began Monday at the Richmond Hill Recreation Department’s Timber Trail complex on Monday and will conclude on Friday. There are, he said, 125 kids participating in the camp which runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Richmond Hill camp is Sapp’s final one of the summer. He previously held camps at Flowery Branch, Warner Robins, Brunswick, St. Simons Island and Evans. The camps are designed for players aged 7 to 14.
“We go to the same places every year,” Sapp said. “We’ve been coming to Richmond Hill for several years and we like coming here.
“Everyone here says they enjoy the camp and we’ve been successful here. The kids are well behaved and they want to learn baseball.”
The Brunswick native compiled a 1,041-293-1 record in 35 years coaching. He is best known for his 20-year career at Middle Georgia (1976-1996) where he led the Warriors to four national junior college world series championships, two runner-up finishes, along with a third and fourth-place finish.
Sapp left Middle Georgia in 1996 to become head coach at Georgia where he coached through the 1999 season. He was also an assistant at Georgia Southern in the 1971-72 seasons.
In addition to his baseball accomplishments Sapp, who played baseball at Glynn Academy and at Georgia, also has the distinction of being Brunswick High School’s first basketball coach. He coached the Pirates for four years and led them to their first winning season in 1970 when they went 15-9.
“I still enjoy working with the kids,” said Sapp when asked why he continues to run his camps instead of sitting back and enjoying retirement. “I don’t see fundamentals as much, especially in younger kids.
“We’re not a trophy camp. What we want to do is let them go home with better fundamental skills. By Friday these kids are improved and have learned a number of things.”
Sapp, who has coached nearly two dozen players who have gone on to the major leagues, started with three camps when he was teaching and coaching in Gwinnett County.
Probably his two most notable campers are current St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and Jeff Francoeur who broke in with the Atlanta Braves and is currently a member of the Braves broadcast crew.