BASEBALL. The Trois-Rivières Blackbirds program added another string to its bow as a U16 team made its appearance on the scoreboard. This formation, made up of selected players, will be able to live an extraordinary experience for several months, the then leading into a major tournament to be held in Florida.
For several years now, the Trois-Rivières Blackbirds have offered professional coaching so that players aged 13 to 17 can achieve their baseball goals. This program is offered to all secondary schools in Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec. The brand new U16 formation will offer young players an unrivaled, even professional experience.
“We have selected the 13 best U16 players in the region and we will bring them to the Treasure Coast Presidents’ Day Challenge. We wanted to target the best players according to their age category and with identified personal objectives. There are those who want to launch 90 mph and others who want to break through in the United States, so they are enthusiasts and each will have their personalized coaching. In Florida, we’re going to have a villa for the whole team. We will also train them between match days and make them run early in the morning. It will be a lifetime experience for these players. They will cook, do the dishes and clean up. It goes beyond baseball, ”explains Pascal Boislard, president of the Académie les Aigles.
“This is the continuation of our Blackbirds training program. Currently, we would like to add another player, ideally a foreign player, from Cuba or the Dominican Republic, from France or Belgium, from Tokyo or China, it doesn’t matter, as long as he is under 16 years old on the 1st may. We have already taken a player from outside and we would like a second with us. »
The head coaches mandated to supervise the young people and accompany them to Florida are Pascal Boislard, Jean-Philippe Martin (kinesiologist and active player for the Castors d’Acton) and Karl Gosselin (kinesiologist, sports therapist and active player for the Cactus of Victoriaville). The left entrance hall of the Academy will be transformed into a clubhouse for the players, including their own locker with name and photo. There will be armchairs with televisions and game consoles, and even a study room, in particular.
“We start practicing in December at the Academy, but also at the Complexe sportif Alphonse-Desjardins (CSAD). Our young people are supervised using a training program which is designed to progress slowly and there, I see that they have reached half of what they can do, ”explains Jean-Philippe Martin.
“We did a four-month program to help them gain throwing speed and hitting speed. We have launchers who have already gained 4 mph since September. At that age, they are sponges. Puberty is coming and the hormones are coming in so we teach them to be smart about it. They are at the age where they have the best possible growth hormone. »
The lucky winners who will make up the very first Blackbirds U16 squad are Maxime Therrien, Zachary Trudel-Gagnon, Zachary Gauthier, Noah L’Heureux, Mathis Lamarre-Lapointe, Aimerick Gauthier, Justin Rivard, Samuel Boislard, Liam Bisson, Cédrik Marchand, Alexis Labranche, Derek Lebel and Owen Turgeon.
U12 and U14?
The Academy of Eagles does not intend to stop there. It is organizing a U12 and U14 recruitment day on Sunday, November 20 (from 11 a.m. at the Académie les Aigles) in order to study the option of setting up two other formations. However, this project is embryonic and its activities are not yet defined.
“We are also thinking of our youngest, but we don’t yet know what we would be aiming for. What we’re going to do first is a talent spotting day at the CSAD and at the Academy, on Sunday, November 20 and perhaps the following Sunday,” explains Mr. Boislard.
“All young people who would like to be part of our U12 and U14 teams are invited to come to our detection day. If it works in the long term, we could become a structure where our young people would start U12, then U14 and then live the U16 experience, ”he concludes.
The Treasure Coast Presidents’ Day Challenge will take place from February 13 to 21.
