It's hard to tell who got a bigger kick out of last week's combined baseball practice -- the Rock Island High School varsity team or the Rock Island Islanders 10-under travel team.

While the Little Leaguers got a thrill, but it was the high schoolers who seemed to have had the most fun.

``I think our players had just as much fun as the little kids,'' said Rock Island coach Andy Campbell. ``They got to have fun and so did the coaches. It was a fun experience.''

Added Rock Island senior second baseman Jim DeJonghe, ``We watched them a lot and it was really a great day. The looks on their faces were great. It's something I'll always remember. I think we all remember when we were where they are now.''

The idea came as result of a discussion Campbell had with Islanders coach Joel Keim during the winter.

``He was wondering if some of our coaches and players could wander to one of his practices,'' Campbell said. ``I told him to bring his kids to our practice so they could see what we do and how we get our work done.''

The Rocks went through an infield practice for the Little Leaguers to watch and then got the youngsters involved with some group running, stretching and catch before breaking up into position groups.

``They put our kids through a simulated practice,'' said Keim, who also coaches a minor league team in the Rock Island Northeast Little League. ``It was quite an experience for our kids. The excitement level was very noticeable.

``Baseball clinics and camps are nice, but this was more rewarding because a lot of these kids have a goal to play high school baseball and this was a chance to be there on the field with the team.''

It was an afternoon filled with highlights for the Islanders team.

``We got to see how they play and stuff like that,'' said Josh Keim. ``It was neat and cool. My favorite was playing catch with Nick Carmack. He showed me how to kind of come up on the ball a little more and charge grounders.''

The varsity players had some highlights of their own.

``I was excited about it,'' said DeJonghe. ``I know how I felt in Little League, looking up to Rocky baseball players as role models. I hope we made it a good day for them because they made it a good day for us.''

Campbell hopes it won't be the last of such days.

``This is something we'd be willing to do with any Little League team in the city or in Milan if our schedule permits,'' he said. ``Anything we can do to sell baseball and Rock Island High School is good.''

The Islanders team consists of 12 players from the Rock Island and Milan Little League programs. Team members are: Leo Anderson, Matt Beam, Cory Cook, Garrett Feldhaan, Nathan Gray, Ryan Helmers, Josh Keim, Taylor Love, Cameron Mandel, Andrew Palm, Kyle Rettig, Travis Thomson.