Watch above: Saskatoon’s newest baseball academy develops elite players
SASKATOON – When thinking of high school classes, English, science, math and history come to mind but baseball? A select number of students in Saskatoon are turning in their books for bats and balls.
It’s not you’re typical classroom but high school students are spending their afternoons at Going Yard Training Centre learning the fundamentals of baseball and fine-tuning their game.
“It’s pretty awesome, I go for periods one, two and three. By 12:15 I’m done for the day and I get to come here and hang out with good buddies of mine and play baseball,” said Carter Boehm, a Grade 11 Centennial Collegiate student.
SaskBaseball is spear heading a baseball academy, enrolling 27 select students from high schools around Saskatoon who’ve demonstrated a commitment to the sport.
“We’re getting kids from Saskatchewan going to Alberta and paying $14,000 to $15,000 a year to move away from home and be in an academy where you can dedicate yourself to baseball, so it was needed and we found out the demand was high,” said Greg Brons, the high performance director for Saskatchewan Baseball .
So high, they were forced to turn some students away. The players who made the cut aren’t taking this opportunity for granted.
“I think just learning the game, we have actually played a few games, we had about 15 or so but just learning the game, just little different techniques and things like that,” said Grade 10 student Jared Binsfeld, who goes to St. Joseph High School.
“Probably how I play the game and how to play it better, I get new ideas every day of how to look at it,” said Boehm.
Like studying for any profession, it’s about achieving that goal.
“The idea of coming here and being a baseball player regardless of where you are when you’re in high school is that you’re trying to get to the next level, you’re trying to prove yourself and get yourself ready to be a college or post secondary baseball player,” said Parker Kynoch, a coach at the Saskatchewan Baseball Academy.
“There’s money that’s out there that’s available and we’ve openly said when you show up, approach it like you’re going to work.”
While this program is preparing players for the next level, it’s also hoping to put Saskatchewan on the baseball map.
Students enrolled in the baseball academy are also taking some online courses.
Going Yard Baseball Warehouse is holding an open house this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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