Sunday 17th June 2007 X X X Father's Day X (United States) X X X X X X X X X X "A Great Experience for Fathers"

Nothing exemplifies Father’s Day better than baseball, a tremendous game that has brought generations of fathers closer together with their kids

Thirty grown men from around the region enjoyed feeling like kids again on what had to be the best Father’s Day of their lives Sunday morning during the inaugural Curve Fantasy Camp

They all had visited Blair County Ballpark before, but getting to spend a few hours playing at the beautiful facility made their year
Smiles lingered for hours as the guys got a chance to feel like pros, playing a couple of games, spending time in the batting cages and hanging out with some Curve players

‘‘I couldn’t wait’’ Matt Dillen of Bellwood, a hitting star who went 4-for-4 during his team’s two games, said
‘‘I just wanted to play on this field’’

Yours truly (Cory Giger) took part in the fun, and having played on various softball lots around town for years, it was tremendous getting to field clean hops at shortstop
There aren’t many better in the business than Curve head groundskeeper ‘‘Irish’’ Patrick Coakley and his crew, something I now know first-hand

The best part of the day was seeing all the kids hanging around the dugout proudly cheering on their dads
What a great scene, the kind that makes you appreciate life, family and the strong bond baseball brings out between fathers and their children

‘‘We love you dad’’ adorned the back of a T-shirt worn by 11-year-old Anthony Faulk of Blairsville, whose father, Todd, showed off some nice skills

Speaking of showing off
Bob Thompson, a former catcher at IUP, showed off a cannon arm by rifling a dead-on throw from center field to the plate
It was the best defensive play of the day and would have nailed a runner, but the catcher dropped the ball

‘‘I just had a great time out here today watching him play on the Curve field’’ Thompson’s 12-year-old son, Bobby, said
‘‘It’s fun yelling at him and stuff like he yells at me’’

‘‘It’s pretty funny when he misses the ball’’ the younger Faulk said of his dad
‘‘It’s the one time we get to yell at him’’

The campers were divided into three teams, coached by Curve players Brett Roneberg, Chris Hernandez and Justin Elliott, and there was good camaraderie built up between a bunch of guys who arrived at the ballpark as strangers
The Curve players did a great job joking around with the regular Joes, helping everybody have fun and stay relaxed

‘‘I know how much baseball meant to my dad because he coached me when I was coming up’’ Roneberg said
‘‘Being that I’m away for Father’s Day every year, it was nice to come out
The campers had a great time, and we had fun out here, too’’

Each of the three teams went 1-1 in round-robin play, and it wasn’t just kids cheering on the players
Most of the guys also had a wife or girlfriend on hand to help celebrate the memorable Father’s Day outing

‘‘It was really exciting’’ said Allison Houk of Altoona, who sat behind the first base dugout cheering on her hubby, Chris
‘‘He and some friends were really looking forward to it, looking forward to getting together with the guys they know, get onto this field and see it from a different perspective’’

Larry Strong of Tyrone did a nice job serving as the home plate umpire, and several Curve staffers helped out as pitchers

It took the Curve nine seasons to try a fantasy camp, and the franchise would be wise to make it an annual event on Father’s Day
There is, simply, no better present for the dads and husbands out there than getting a chance to live out a childhood dream on a professional ballfield

‘‘A lot of the guys seemed to enjoy it and said they were ready to sign up again next year’’ said Curve employee Denny Watson, who organized the event
‘‘The key was to make sure the smiles stayed on their faces, and I think we accomplished that’’

The Curve certainly did
General manager Todd Parnell always says the franchise is in the memory-making business, and plenty of memories were made on this Father’s Day