Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Creighton Baseball Continues to Honor Former Bluejay by Hosting Graditude Camp
6/15/2022 10:31:00 AM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. -- In a continued effort to honor the memory of former Bluejay Chris Gradoville, Creighton Baseball teamed with another former Bluejay (Pat Venditte) to host the first annual "Grad-itude" camp at the CU Sports Complex on Wednesday, June 15.
Established this winter, the Chris Gradoville "Grad-itude" baseball camp is designed to teach participants the intangible traits that Chris and players at the highest level possess: hustle, heart, respect, and determination.
"For those of us that put this event together it was about, how can we honor Chris. Who he was as a player, but more importantly who he was off the field and the lives he touched," noted Venditte.
In addition to Venditte and the Bluejay staff, Creighton players as well as former MLB players Brian Duensing (a former Husker) and Tyler Boyd (Papillion, Neb.) volunteers their time for the event. In addition, high school coaches as well as members of the baseball community served as instructors for the camp.
"Looking at the reach that Chris had throughout Omaha, throughout the country, it doesn't surprise me how many people were so willing to help." said Nikki Gradoville (Chris' widow).
Broken into two sessions, 8-12 year old campers participated in the first two hours from 9-11 a.m. The second session (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) expanded the age group to 8-18 years. Limited to 100 campers ranging in age from 8-18, the capacity was exceeded as a waiting list for the camp was put in place several weeks ago.
All proceeds from the camp go directly to the Chris Gradoville Baseball Leadership Scholarship, a fund that continues to grow with the hope of providing a full scholarship to the Creighton Baseball program.
Established this winter, the Chris Gradoville "Grad-itude" baseball camp is designed to teach participants the intangible traits that Chris and players at the highest level possess: hustle, heart, respect, and determination.
"For those of us that put this event together it was about, how can we honor Chris. Who he was as a player, but more importantly who he was off the field and the lives he touched," noted Venditte.
In addition to Venditte and the Bluejay staff, Creighton players as well as former MLB players Brian Duensing (a former Husker) and Tyler Boyd (Papillion, Neb.) volunteers their time for the event. In addition, high school coaches as well as members of the baseball community served as instructors for the camp.
"Looking at the reach that Chris had throughout Omaha, throughout the country, it doesn't surprise me how many people were so willing to help." said Nikki Gradoville (Chris' widow).
Broken into two sessions, 8-12 year old campers participated in the first two hours from 9-11 a.m. The second session (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) expanded the age group to 8-18 years. Limited to 100 campers ranging in age from 8-18, the capacity was exceeded as a waiting list for the camp was put in place several weeks ago.
All proceeds from the camp go directly to the Chris Gradoville Baseball Leadership Scholarship, a fund that continues to grow with the hope of providing a full scholarship to the Creighton Baseball program.
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