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David Camp | Asheboro Copperheads Baseball
[Perma Link]David Camp | Asheboro Copperheads Baseball
Q: Can you explain a bit about how the Asheboro Copperheads and the Coastal Plain Baseball teams work?
We are strictly a collegiate summer team which means that every single one of our players is a part of a college baseball team. There are 15 teams in the Coastal Plain League or CPL, and the teams are all from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia; and since we are a non-professional league all of our players are non-paid. The benefit to the players is, of course, they get an enormous amount of practice in their off-season from school, and we regularly have scouts come to the games to check out the players that have aspirations to go professional.Q: How many games do you play each season?We play even more games than they do in college on average. We play 28 home games and 28 away games for a total of 56 games - all in a 65 day period.Q: That's a lot of games and a lot of travel! How do these players afford to do this if they are unpaid?First of all, we have host families that put the kids up for the summer which is very helpful...and we've had some tremendous host families here in Asheboro! Some host families have even taken in multiple players at once, and many love it so much they host players year after year. Owning a baseball team is not cheap for any of our owners - brothers Steve, Doug, and Mike Pugh. They pay for all the maintenance of the field, team transportation, and a long list of other necessities, but it's something they all love.Q: How did you get into baseball?My dad was a baseball and basketball coach when I was a kid, and I used to be the bat boy for his teams. So I guess it's always been in my blood and a part of who I am. I never thought about being a major player myself, but I always knew I wanted to be a sports writer.Q: You have really made a name for yourself in the community as a sports writer, too. How did you get to the Copperheads?I was the sports editor for The Courier-Tribune in Asheboro for eleven years, sports editor of The Burlington Times-News, and worked for other daily and weekly papers. Eventually, because of my love of baseball and knowing Pat Brown, the previous owner of The Copperheads, I started off scoring the games for the team in 1999 when it first began and helping attract advertisers and host families. In 2008, I was hired as General Manager. It has been a great thrill for me to have been able to be a part of this team, for both me and my wife. In fact, she loves it so much that she's only missed about four or five games in the last eight years. It's been a privilege for us both.Q: What are some of your favorite things about The Copperheads and Asheboro in general?I take great pride in our world-class North Carolina Zoo, but really this team is my passion! Asheboro has always had a strong history in baseball going all the way back to the early 1900s. McCrary Park where we play was built in 1948, and we've had the American Legion games that were such a huge part of Asheboro in the 50s, 60s, and 70s through today. We've always had great community support, and we pride ourselves in being a part of baseball as a whole, too. We've hosted the American Legion's Southeast Regional Tournament each August for the past eight years. I'm proud that baseball has been at the forefront of our community.Q: For people that don't know that much about baseball, why should they come to the games?There are so many reasons to support our team! It's really a great place to spend time with the family. For the kids, in between innings, we always have fun games for them to participate in like the Dizzy Bat Race, the Tire Roll, Big Wheel Races, and other goofy games we play to keep it fun for them. We have a Veteran's Appreciation Night where we have fireworks in the first week of each season, along with the July 4th Fireworks, and a beer garden that's been popular with the adults. Coming to Copperheads games is even great for people in business. People come and meet other people in the community and many business deals have been made at this stadium! After all, life is about making memories, and I can't think of a better place to make great family fun-filled memories that will last a lifetime!