The Vidalia High School baseball team did much more than teach at its youth training camp Monday afternoon.

As a group of 15 to 20 young athletes were treated to a free event at the Concordia Recreational Complex, many Vikings learned a thing or two on how to be a leader.

For senior Cam Rodgers, teaching little ones the proper way to swing a bat brought back a flood of memories.

“I remember when I was their age,” he said. “I used to go to the old high school field and watch them play all the time.

“It makes me feel old. Now that I’m teaching them, it’s cool to see what the high school team is going to look like five or 10 years from now. It’s going to happen quicker than I probably want it to.”

As Rodgers stepped up to lead players in the batting cage Monday, he also noted he is still working through how to be a role model for the Vikings.

As the team’s starting catcher, Rodgers knows a lot of his team’s communication flows through him.

“I can blink and it seems like just the first time I caught in a varsity game,” he said. “Now, it almost feels like I have five games left. I know it’s not five, but it feels like it. I know I’ve got to help the younger ones get through because it’s my last year and I can’t get it back.”

Over on the infield, senior Christian Fort led a small group of players through a fielding drill throwing and catching at first base.

Though Fort said he knew he would be in a leadership role, he wasn’t exactly sure what he would be doing.

“We aren’t used to leading quite yet,” he said. “We were just trying to learn what we were doing while helping them get better. To be honest, we knew what we were doing, just not quite how to do it.”

Fort and his Viking counterparts fumbled through the first few go-arounds, laughing at missed balls on long passes. By the end of the session, however, everyone came together for a group chant.

“We got thrown in with a little lefty that we didn’t know about, so we had to figure out what to do with him,” Fort said. “But, it all worked out. It’s been fun.”

Vidalia baseball coach Mike Norris said while the camp was helpful in giving back to the community, he enjoyed watching his players grow, too.

“I just want them to be around baseball as much as possible,” Norris said.