Leaving the big leagues is something every baseball player struggles with. But for Tucson native, Shelley Duncan, his post majors plan was natural.
“Baseball runs in the family. It's pretty much the main thing I know, the only thing I know,” says Duncan.
Duncan is now a minor league coach in the Diamondbacks system, “It's a lot different than playing, you don't get the same adrenaline level that you do as a player.”
Duncan will be hosting his youth baseball camp this weekend. “Jordan brown first introduced me to clinics here in Tucson”, says Duncan. “He brought me on. He was doing one for a couple years and had me do one and then we transitioned it into a free event.”
Duncan hopes the camp will provide some big memories. “The most important thing for me is that the kids have a wow moment. A chance to be around former big leaguers and some current big leaguers is special to them.”
While spending most of his life around baseball, Shelley is using this youth baseball experience to give back to the Tucson community.
“I played CDO little league coming up, CDO high school”, says Duncan. “The funnest years of baseball were my youth. And to have the ability to make it to the big leagues I owe a lot back to this city.”
A baseball family, Duncan's dad was also a pitching coach in the majors. “He was one of the best coaches in baseball and he taught me a lot, not just about how to play the game but the other side of it as well. There's a lot of things that I do, that come from him.”
With his kids today, Duncan will share his knowledge with a group of kids this weekend.
“We want to give the kids instruction, but we also want to bring some fun to the game.”
For information on Shelley Duncan’s Tucson Youth Baseball Experience, visit the site below. The event is free to attend.
http://www.tucsonyouthbaseballassociation.org/
