Brooke Brubaker gives back at Guardians Summer Camp
PARMA, Ohio (athletics.tri-c.edu) – Last week, as throngs of children descended upon the newly-opened Guardians Training Center for a youth baseball and softball camp hosted by the Cleveland Guardians, a familiar face stood out amongst the crowd of children. Within the camp on Tri-C's Western Campus, keen-eyed observers could see one instructor that looked familiar: rising sophomore pitcher Brooke Brubaker (Columbiana, Ohio).
Brubaker joined the staff at the Guardians Training Center as an instructor and was a key piece of the week-long camp experience for the kids that attended. And she had a blast.
"It's so good," Brubaker said with a laugh when asked how her experience as an instructor was going. "I love working with these kids. It's really cool to see them doing this because when I grew up, there weren't a lot of structured drills or camps or anything like that. It's cool to see kids so young getting into the fundamentals early and getting what I didn't when I was young."
The camp, open to children ages 6-14, was the first major event hosted in the new Guardians Training Center, which officially opened on Tri-C's Western Campus May 28, and one of 18 camps in the Guardians Youth Summer Camp 2026 schedule.
Designed to help baseball and softball players of all levels and experience learn and grow their knowledge of the game, the five-day camp was a smash hit. It included five full days of fun, engaging work for the campers with certified instructors like Brubaker and featured a question-and-answer session between campers and Guardians pitcher Shawn Armstrong.
Each day, Brubaker was able to work hands-on with the campers to impart her knowledge of the game. The days started at 9 a.m., when Brubaker and the other instructors would walk them through a normal warm-up session similar to what she'd do ahead of a pitching appearance for the Triceratops. That includes full stretching sessions, using J-bands on their arms to warm up the throwing arm's rotator cuffs and the surrounding muscle groups.
Then, the instructors would take the campers through every facet of the game, from hitting, throwing, fielding, sliding, and anything else that a player would need to do on the diamond. Having a pitcher with experience in the NJCAA Division II World Series probably didn't hurt either.
The final two days of the camp ended with scrimmages between the campers, allowing them to have a fun way to showcase what they'd learned throughout the camp. On Friday, the final day of camp, the campers treated their parents to live games on Tri-C's Ron Mottl Field, having a blast the entire time.
It also allowed a chance for the community to fully experience the new Guardians Training Center, including practicing in the same space as the Triceratops baseball and softball teams.
"The new space is so nice, especially prior to what it was before," Brubaker said with a smile. "It's so cool to see these young players get to be in a great place like this. And it's the same place I get to go to practice and learn myself."
The newly-renovated 20,000 square foot facility is still being worked on, with new equipment being brought in or installed all the time, but that didn't stop anyone from enjoying their time in the building. Practicing and scrimmaging on the new turf allowed everyone to have all kinds of fun, jumping and diving and sliding all around as they put what they learned into practice.
At the May 28 ribbon cutting ceremony for the Training Center, Tri-C President Michael A. Baston J.D., Ed.D. said, "this partnership with the Cleveland Guardians and EL1 Sprots reflects Tri-C's commitment to creating real-world learning experiences that prepare students for meaningful careers. The Guardians Training Center supports player development on the field while also creating pathways off the field – linking education and community impact in ways that benefit students, families, and athletes all across Northeast Ohio."
Brubaker's time at the camp is among the first main examples of that: linking education and community impact with her time at Tri-C by teaching and having fun with kids in the community. After all, that was her favorite part of working at the camp.
"Honestly, just seeing them over the week improve, have fun, socialize with other children and just love the game," Brubaker said of her favorite thing from working the camp.
Overall, Brubaker had a great time at the Guardians Summer Youth Camp. The children certainly seemed to, as well. They were having fun playing baseball up until the last second, when they bid their new friends goodbye and got into their parents' cars.
Everyone at the camp learned something, as the partnership between Tri-C, the Guardians and EL1 Sports, set out to do. Namely, to love baseball and softball more than before. Brubaker was at the forefront of that, working with the children each day for a week, and ensuring every camper, and their parents know, Cuyahoga Community College is truly where futures begin.
SUMMER PROFILES
This piece is the third in a series of profiles on players and coaches around the Cuyahoga Community College athletic department. See below to read the prior entries:
May 13, 2026 - Family and perserverance drive Cuyahoga Community College Men's Basketball's Frankie Evans IV to next chapter
June 10, 2026 - Relationships and bonding push young Cuyahoga Community College Women's Basketball team to new heights
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