April 26, 2022

By Scott Langdon

Canadian Baseball Network

North America’s first baseball academy for girls is planning to double enrolment next year and sees opportunities for growth and opportunity in the years ahead.

The Académie du Baseball Canada (ABC) girls’ baseball program, an initiative of Baseball Quebec based in Trois-Rivieres, expects to increase the number of students from the current 12 to as many as 22 girls next year, says Patricia Landry, former Women’s National Team member and the ABC coordinator and head coach.

“We tried combining the girls with the boys’ academy in Montreal a few years ago, but that didn’t work out the way we wanted. We started this program as a pilot project in September 2021 and it has continued to evolve,” she said.

The students attend morning classes during the school year and play and practice baseball in the afternoons. A different structure is in place for post-secondary students who might have evening classes.

“We want to provide a tailored education schedule for each girl along with individualized, baseball skill development in a high-performance program for elite players who aspire to the Women’s National Team or other opportunities. We also focus on community participation,” Landry said.

Students are required to spend time volunteering in the community and at the ABC, consistent with its core values of building athletic skills and developing balance and well-being as well as citizen participation.

The ABC concept grew from Baseball Quebec’s strategic plan which prioritized the development of women’s baseball. The federation commissioned a report by Better Sport in 2020 to understand the development principles of the best sport programs around the world to help improve the high performance of Baseball Quebec.

“With the number of female players increasing year-over-year throughout Quebec it was more than necessary to offer a high-performance program for elite athletes designated with the objective of reaching the highest levels, including the Women’s National Team,” Maxime Lamarche, executive director, Baseball Quebec said during the launch of the ABC.

Schools, living arrangements

High school-aged students attend Académie les Estacades, one of the top sport and studies schools in the province while post-secondary students can attend either Le CEGEP de Trois-Rivieres or Le College Lafleche. University programs at L’Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres are planned for next year for interested students.

This year, the 12 students roomed together at three rental apartments. Billeting with local families is planned for next year.

The program costs $5,000 per year, excluding tuition fees, lodging and transport, but the program pays for 50 per cent of required commute-type shuttles. A two-week trip to a location such as Florida, Cuba or the Dominican Republic for training and games is also included in the annual fee.

Training and facilities

Students learn from a variety of coaches including Landry and Remi Doucet, assistant coordinator and coach who has guided 12 national championship teams from Quebec. There is also specialized instruction in pitching, nutrition and physical training.

Players train and play at the Complexe Sportif Alphonse-Desjardins, Baseball 360 and Stade Quillorama, home of the professional Les Aigles de Trois-Rivieres of the independent Frontier League

The Baseball 360 facility covers more than 15,000 sq ft and offers a variety of equipment and technology to support player development including:

• 4 batting cages

• 2 HitTrax simulators

• A Rapsodo machine to analyze various aspects and functions of throwing and pitching

• A Kinematic Camera Optitrack

• 2-pocket radar smart coach

• 6 pitching machines and other facilities.

“All of our practices and the facilities where we practice helped me a lot in my personal development and as an athlete,” said Lydia Lefebvre, a high school student from Saint-Hyacinthe, a city in southwestern Quebec, east of Montreal. “I have no hesitation recommending the ABC to others because for athlete development it is probably the best you can get in our sport.”

Growth potential

Landry says the first-year pilot project in 2021 is indicative of their approach to develop the ABC slowly and deliberately, but she sees potential opportunities for the future.

“Within a few years we would like to have up to 40 student athletes in the program and perhaps begin to approach elite players in other provinces,” she says, adding that current education is offered in French only.

“International students from countries such as France and the Netherlands where girls’ baseball is beginning to grow could offer additional opportunities.”

The current focus on high-performance development is aimed at helping Baseball Quebec do well in national championship play and to provide opportunities for more girls to make the Women’s National Team. But Landry muses about even more opportunities for the future.

“Perhaps a college or university league here at home is possible to give women more opportunities to continue playing. We could even dream of a women’s pro league some years down the road because girls’ baseball is growing so fast in Quebec and other parts of the country,” she said.

Jason Dickson, chief executive officer, Baseball Canada and a former major league pitcher, shares Landry’s enthusiasm for girls’ baseball and endorses the academy concept.

“A lot of people, including Baseball Canada, are watching the development of this training concept for girls’ baseball. It’s a great move by Baseball Quebec and its partners. We’ll see if it sparks interest elsewhere in the country,” he said.

“This type of high-performance training falls nicely into a development continuum and we would like to see more high-level competitive opportunities. For example, we are working hard to get female baseball into the Canada Games.”

Dickson added that Baseball Canada has re-launched its Rally Cap program. It starts the baseball development system for boys and girls, aiming to increase interest at young ages by teaching skills, rules and strategies for children and adults.

Landry was asked if we will ever see a woman playing major league baseball as a result of programs such as Rally Cap, the ABC and others.

“I’m glad and proud to see all the women involved in baseball as coaches, mental performance consultants or trainers. The idea is to give the same opportunities to women and men, but physically there is a huge difference between men and women in sport. My wish is that someday we create a professional league for women,” she said.

She added that there is a four-team women’s pro league in Japan.

“Do we ask women if they would like to play in the NBA? Probably not because they can play on a women’s team in Division One of the NCAA and then the WNBA. There is a lot of work to do in terms of salary equity, but opportunities do exist. I think we should stop asking why women are not playing in a men’s pro baseball league and instead start working toward equity.”