On Aug. 13-16, 2008, the Turn 2 Foundation once again partnered with the City of Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Department and Scott's Collectibles to host the Fifth Annual Turn 2 Foundation Kalamazoo Baseball Clinic at Mayor's Riverfront Park on Homer Stryker Field, home to the Kalamazoo Kings.

This annual four-day clinic is open to boys and girls ages 7 to 13 residing in the West Michigan area and is free for each participant. The workshop focuses on baseball fundamentals, as well as important life skills and lessons which are acquired from Derek Jeter's biography, The Life You Imagine. These lessons make up the central component of the Turn 2 Foundation curriculum.

Throughout the clinic, participants were led through multiple baseball skill stations by a group of 14 hand-picked local coaches. These 25-minute stations focused on teaching and reinforcing the fundamentals of hitting, fielding, throwing, pitching and baserunning, as well as highlighting Derek's 10 Life Lessons which include: Set Your Goals High, Don't Be Afraid to Fail, Have a Strong Supporting Cast, Be Serious But Have Fun, Think Before You Act, and Be a Leader, Follow the Leader.

A major highlight of this year's clinic included a very special guest speaker that the Turn 2 Foundation was honored to have in attendance. Former New York Yankee Shortstop and 1978 World Series MVP Bucky Dent spoke to the children about all aspects of the game. Bucky shared fielding techniques from his experience as a shortstop, gave multiple hitting tips and reiterated the importance of life skills such as Derek's 10 Life Lessons. He then allowed the children to ask questions about his experiences on and off the field. Bucky also runs his own baseball academy -- Bucky Dent's Baseball School -- in Delray Beach, Fla., that teaches children the fundamentals skills of the game.

On the last day, the clinic hosted a banquet and awards ceremony for the children to reward them for all of their hard work throughout the week. Motivational speaker and author Kevin Carroll was once again asked to act as the guest speaker for the event. As always, his presentation was inspiring and impactful for all attendees. As part of his mission to have a lasting effect on the participants, Kevin presented each child a copy of his most recent book, What's Your Red Rubber Ball?, a follow-up to his last publication, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. Afterwards, each participant received a goodie bag with gifts from the Turn 2 Foundation and its supporters as well as an individual recognition for their efforts. The ceremony concluded with an announcement of the "Camper of the Week", who was rewarded due to the skills improvements, sportsmanship qualities and positive attitude that he showed throughout the entire clinic. The lucky camper was rewarded with the honor of throwing out the first pitch at the Kalamazoo Kings game later that night.