Nick Kozole visits Tiger baseball camp

June 26, 2025

By Clay Whittington

The Belton Journal

Nick Kozole knows exactly what to expect.

After spending the last several years molding New Braunfels Canyon into an area power, the head baseball coach recently decided to step away from the role in order to fill the void at Belton left by the retirement of longtime Tigers Coach Mark Krueger.

Unfortunately, the transition occurred at a time that made it difficult for Kozole to oversee the program’s annual summer camp.

As a result, he was only able to witness part of the event, but he saw everything he needed to.

“Whenever you do one of these camps,” Kozole said, “especially with little kids, you always want to see numbers. I always try to look at how many young men are out there who love baseball, and it was a really good showing; probably between 60 and 70 kids off the top of my head.

“The biggest thing I was impressed by, though, was how many of the high school players and former players were out there, giving back to the community. That is a big thing to me.”

The three-day camp ran for three hours each day, welcoming players entering second through ninth grade. While the ages varied widely, the camp’s purpose did not. Regardless of skill level, all participants were instructed on fundamentals of the game, including hitting, fielding and throwing, through competitions, contests, games and drills.

For some, lessons consisted of basic skills and mechanics along with introducing rules of the game, while older kids were given more complex exercises, mimicking a varsity practice.

Ultimately, the goal was for everyone to gain beneficial knowledge, and while his time was limited, Kozole felt accomplished during his visit.

“I was only fortunate enough to catch the tail end of the camp,” Kozole said, “but I was able to meet the other coaches and go out to eat, and I got to see a lot of the players come and go. So, I was only able to see people in passing, but I’m very excited about this opportunity.”

Belton will open the season trying to build on Krueger’s nine consecutive playoff appearances. The Tigers finished second in the

District 16-5A standings last season.

Kozole will be forced to attempt the feat without several key components from the program’s recent success. Among others, first baseman Jacob Quigley, second baseman Austin Wood, shortstop Gage Flores, outfielder Rayshaun Peoples and pitcher Cole Haisler are each graduating.

The departures certainly leave areas of improvement for the Tigers, and while his time within the community has been limited thus far, Kozole knows exactly what to expect in the near future thanks to his brief experience at the camp.

“I saw a lot of really  goodlooking young men,” he said, “who were very strong and athletic, but the biggest thing was just to see their character. Our players really worked well with the young kids, and the fact they were giving up their time to give back was huge.

“That spoke with more volume to me than anything else.”