Contact: Teresa Aldrich, Health, Sport and Exercise Science, (785) 864-5552.
LAWRENCE--If Phillip Huntsinger's class were a baseball game, it would go into extra innings. Instead, it's a 12-hour-long, one-day course covering practically everything a fan could want to know about the national pastime.
The one-credit-hour Health Sport and Exercise Sciences course at the University of Kansas will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 15.
Titled "Baseball: America's Pastime," the marathon course will be broken into 24 workshops covering a wide range of baseball-related topics, such as keeping score, how to hold a split-finger fastball, and traditions and superstitions of the game.
The class will feature guest speakers including KU baseball coach Bobby Randall, a Cleveland Indians scout, and Carole Zebas, professor of health, sport and exercise science, who will explain the science behind the sport.
Huntsinger, KU associate professor of health, sport and exercise sciences, said the idea for a baseball course followed the success of his previous summer course on fishing, which also is available this summer.
"I just hope to develop more interest in baseball and share some of the enthusiasm I have for it," he said.
Hunstinger, who played semipro baseball in Wichita and Virginia several years ago, said he plans to bring his own collection of some 600 baseball gloves as part of the discussion on memorabilia.
The course will require students to complete a project outside of the class, either by visiting the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Mo., announcing a game directly into a tape recorder, or keeping score at a major-league game. And, like any other course, it will wrap up with a final exam.
Although there still are vacancies for the class, enrollment is limited. The enrollment fee is $92.35 for Kansas residents and $312.45 for non-residents. Those not currently enrolled at KU also must submit an academic transcript to the university and pay a $20 application fee.
Students must register no later than noon Friday, July 14. For details about the course and registration information, call Teresa Aldrich in the KU's Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences department at (785) 864-5552.