Holyoke youngster's essay wins him slot in baseball camp run by Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek

August 27, 2008 | The Republican | By Ken Ross


HOLYOKE - Dylan S. Akalis thought he was in trouble when his mother, Paula, told him to come downstairs.


Instead, the 12-year-old seventh-grader at Holyoke Community Charter School learned he had won a scholarship to attend a week-long baseball camp run by his idol, Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek.


"I didn't believe it," Dylan said last week, seated at a picnic table in his parents' back yard.


And what was his mother's reaction? "Oh my God, I couldn't even breathe," she said, then added, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."


Meeting your idols can have that effect.


The essay contest was run by the BoSox Club, the official booster club of the Boston Red Sox. Dylan Akalis' essay talked about how he wanted to improve his skills as a catcher and perhaps other positions on the field.


"I bat and throw left-handed," Akalis wrote. "I have played catcher for the past four years but since I am left-handed it really isn't the best position for me. Finally, this year another player is going to catch. I need some tips to play other positions


because I have not had the chance to play anywhere else until now."


Dylan was one of the lucky essay winners, who received an all-expenses-paid trip to the RBI Baseball Academy featuring Varitek.


Dylan's father, Stephen, was the one who answered the phone when the good news came. When he told his wife and son, he said, "They didn't believe it. They thought I was pulling their leg."


The five-day camp geared for boys 9 to 16 years old was held at Stonehill College located near Foxboro. More than 400 boys attended the overnight camp, Paula Akalis said.


The camp teaches the fundamentals of hitting, pitching, fielding, throwing, catching and base running. The camp starts early each day (7 a.m.) and includes two scrimmages each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.


One thing in particular Dylan said he remembers learning was how to properly hold the bat at the plate.


"You hold the bat not too far out of your sight," he said.


But the highlight was definitely meeting Varitek on the last day of camp. Varitek has long been Dylan's favorite Red Sox player, Paula said. She's also a big fan of the level-headed catcher who helped guide the team's pitchers to two World Series championships within the last four years.


So what was Varitek like at the camp?


"He was funny," Dylan said. "He was entertaining. He was really calm."


One of the funny things Varitek told the audience, which included Dylan's parents, was that he often tells jokes to the pitchers when he goes to the mound to talk to them.


Dylan talked calmly about other things he remembered from the camp. But don't let his cool demeanor fool you. The first thing Dylan said when he left the camp, Paula said, was, "I want to come again."


"He's going to save all his money, cut everyone's grass, save everyone's bottles and cans," Paula said, in order to save up enough money to go to Varitek's camp again next summer.