The Minnesota Twins offer free baseball and softball clinics to youth in Albert Lea on Friday, June 25, at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at Hayek Field or in the case of inclement weather at City Arena.

The Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics program provides boys and girls from throughout the Upper Midwest with the opportunity to enhance their baseball and softball skills, while also hearing positive messages about staying in school and away from drugs and alcohol. Play Ball! Minnesota Youth Clinics are funded and administered by the Twins Community Fund.

2010 marks the 50th year the Minnesota Twins and the Twins Community Fund have offered free youth baseball/softball clinics. To celebrate the milestone, the Twins Community Fund will offer 50 clinics throughout the summer.

Clinics are open to boys and girls ages 6 to 16 and are divided into two 90-minute sessions; the first session is for 6 to 9-year-olds and the second for 10 to 16-year-olds. Clinics focus on hitting, fielding and throwing. Parents are encouraged to participate with their children. Children ages 6 to 9 years should report Friday at 2 p.m.; children ages 10 to 16 should arrive at 3:30 p.m.

Created in 1961 by longtime Twins scout Angelo Giuliani, the clinic program serves as a way for the ball club to promote the games of baseball and softball to boys and girls throughout the region. Since the program’s inception, more than 800,000 youth have take part in Twins clinics in the upper Midwest and southwest Florida.