Kids of all ages turned out Saturday night at the Taft Recreation Center to learn how to improve their baseball skills.
Noticeably absent from the free camp was Ceph Christie. The 17-year-old drowned last August in the Potomac River during what’s believed to have been a boating accident.
“It knocked me to my knees to tell you the truth,” said Christie’s father, Marlon.
He entered a deep depression over the loss of his son.
“I was in the bed where it felt like the bed I was in was sinking in, it was consuming me,” Christie said.
Christie said he’s a religious man and his faith helped him in his recovery.
“I gotta be resilient. they say God’s not going to put more on your shoulders than you can bear. so I’m living it,” said Christie. “It’s not just words now because I’m actually in it. I see what it means.”
Ceph Christie earned the title of D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association’s high school baseball player of the year last season as a junior at Dunbar High School. He committed to play baseball at Western Carolina University.
“Even though he’s gone, he’s always in our hearts,” said Ja’Den Keys, a friend. “We’re here to support him, and play for him.”
Marlin Christie helped organize the camp that not only teaches the game to young people in the District, it also lets players know they are not alone if they ever need help.
“I don’t know where I’d be without my support system,” said Marlon Christie
That system guided him through his greatest loss.
Source: DC News Now
