Cardinals kids clinic comes to Cape Girardeau

The impact of meeting a major leaguer can be one that sticks with someone for a long time.

Young athletes in the area had that opportunity on Tuesday, June 6, when the Cardinals Kids Clinic came into town at the Shawnee Park Sports Complex.

The clinic featured former Cardinals players Scott Terry, Neil Fiala, Lonnie Maclin, Danny Cox, Greg Mathews, John Costello and Pat Perry.

Terry, the clinic's leader, said the Cape Girardeau area always shows up.

“We don’t have a hard time selling out,” Terry said. “We always get great attendance here and we get a really good age range. When we’re in the Saint Louis area and around the city we have a tendency to get much younger kids and not older kids.”

Costello, who spent three seasons with the Cardinals in 1988, 1989 and 1990 said the kids in the clinic in this area come in with a lot of knowledge.

“The kids in this area are one of the more knowledgeable groups of all the camps we do,” Costello said. “

The clinics have been running for 18 years, and for Cox, being around the game of baseball keeps him coming back.

“I just want to teach them a few things about the game so they can get a little bit better even if they don’t go anywhere with it,” Cox said. “Maybe there will be an opportunity where they can play catch with their dad or with a friend and they can pass it along as they get older.”

Cox feels the clinics are a positive experience for the kids that come out.

“I think it’s good they’re getting the instruction they’re getting at the level they’re getting it at,” Cox said. “Because they’re getting it from people that have played the game and have learned from everybody else.”

Terry said being able to represent the Cardinals while also giving back to communities is important to him.

“We were all treated very well as players,” Terry said. “The Cardinals organization is one of the top sports organizations. Not just in baseball but in any professional sport. When somebody treats you well and you create that family atmosphere, it’s not hard to get those people to want to do things for the organization.”

Costello echoed Terry’s sentiments on the organization.

“They treat their players great,” Costello said. “We do a lot of camps for the Cardinals and do a lot of appearances like this.”

Cox said being considered to help with the camps is something that means a lot to him.

“I always look forward to it,” Cox said. “For them to consider me to come out here and teach kids I feel honored to do it.”

For more information on other Cardinals Kids Clinics, visit https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/fans/kids-clinics.