Joyce: 'Giving back to the community'

It isn't baseball season and the temperature was in the low 30s, but you couldn't tell that to the kids who showed up at North Brandon Little League Field to play some ball.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Matt Joyce conducted his Sweet Swingin' Baseball Camp for youngsters ages 9 to 15.

Joyce, who batted .241 with 10 homers for the Rays this year, comes back to Brandon every off-season. He graduated from Armwood High School and still lives in the Tampa area. He's likely to be a key to the Rays offense in 2011, especially after the free agency departure of Carl Crawford.

Joyce hit his first homer at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex when he was 12 while playing for the Brandon Crush during an Amateur Athletic Union tournament. He hasn't forgotten his roots.

"I definitely want to be a role model," Joyce said. "I think there are a lot of guys nowadays that kids look up to and being from the Brandon area gives me a chance to do that. That's where you grew up, that's your home ground. You have to pay respect to it and take care of it.

" ... I love it here and want to help out any chance I can. It's a great area for baseball and we have so much talent down here in Florida that it's hard to beat.''

More than 70 kids showed up for the Dec. 4 camp and Joyce stayed the entire day, signing autographs and teaching. The $100 registration fee was donated to the Greater Brandon Community Foundation, which supports more than 50 registered charities in the Brandon area.

Karen Farmer, who helped organize the camp, said things went better than expected. Joyce had other professional players, including Craig Kimball of the Atlanta Braves, as instructors, and the day ended with baseball games on each of the North Brandon fields at the same time.

"Everyone is having a great time and it couldn't be going any better,'' Farmer said. "Matt loves to do this and we are excited to have him.''

Joyce said part of what makes it special for him is providing something he didn't have while growing up: a professional hitting coach with Major League experience.

"I never had a Major Leaguer come out and talk to me about baseball,'' Joyce said. "This is a great way to give back to the community.''