Hello Gulls fans!
This month I thought it might be interesting to look at the St. Joe’s Baseball Academy and the Gulls Prep Program. I was so impressed to see the facilities they have at their disposal. St. Joe’s opened in 2018 and it was designed with some pretty amazing facilities for a baseball academy. The field house at the school is about 25,000 sq ft, that facilitates batting cages, portable pitching mounds, lots of room to work on infield drills, an extensive weight training room and even a yoga studio.
The program works with a total of 160 students that participate, and they come from all over Alberta to attend. There are 100 high school students in the program; two classes of 30 boys, who work out daily, and 40 girls that have programs designed to help them improve their fastball skills. The programs are actual classes for the high schoolers, and offers 10 credits per year towards their diplomas. Something that makes the Falcons program unique is that it is actually part of the school, and it takes place during school hours. Most other academies do their baseball either before or after school, which limits what the students can do outside of school.
In addition to the High School program they welcome another 60 students from St. Thomas Middle School that come to the Academy a couple of afternoons each week. An extra benefit of the Jr High program is that Grade 9 students spend one afternoon a week being orientated to High School life.
Further to all the amenities the school offers, the program features a number of instructors who will be familiar to Gulls fans. The Lead Instructor at the Academy is Jason Chatwood, who Gulls fans know was the Head Coach for the Gulls for their first five years in the WCBL. Jason has chosen to step down as the HC and concentrate on his duties at the Academy, and spending more time with his wife and sons. He will continue on as General Manager of the Gulls.
Jason’s resume is extensive and it includes a long list of personal accomplishments and awards. His contacts with U.S. colleges and Universities is a huge benefit when it comes to recruiting players to come to Sylvan, to play summer ball for the Gulls. It also helps with getting local kids opportunities to attend school down south. This year already they have 6–8 players who have committed to attend U.S. schools in the fall.
Another familiar face for Gulls fans is Ben Prediger, who is the strength and conditioning instructor. He also coaches the Falcons team when they participate in fall ball, against other academies. In chatting with Ben he said that he absolutely loves what he’s doing at the school and he’s very happily settled in Central Alberta.
Tyler McWillie is another former Gulls player who earned his teaching degree and settled in Red Deer. He teaches at St. Thomas and heads up the Jr High programs. He also helps out coaching the Falcons fall teams.
Another familiar face at the Academy, although he was never a Gulls player, is Dwayne Lalor. Dwayne brings a lengthy resume which dates back to the 1970’s, where he won Athlete of the Year awards at Lindsay Thurber High School, in Red Deer. It also includes awards from Washington State University, a member of Team Canada, Team Alberta Head Coach in 1993, 2009, 2017, 2019 and 2022. He also played for the Red Deer Riggers Sr Men’s baseball team for 29 years, and in that time won a National Championship and 15 Provincial Titles. He has coached at St Joes since 2019.
Another interesting draw to St. Joe’s is that local players that are now playing at higher levels come and work out at the school. The day I was there Ty Boudreau came in for a workout. It’s got to be a huge motivator to see someone on his way up, working out side by side with these younger ball players. I understand that Nathan Flewelling is another young player advancing up the pro ranks, also works out there regularly. Many College players that come back to Central Alberta on school breaks also find their way to the school.
I also understand that in the fall the instructors will take a contingent of players down to the States where they get a chance to check out a number of schools and showcase their talents for College coaches. Apparently a lot of young players will put together tapes of them playing, but I’m sure getting to show your stuff live is much more effective.
As the Academy continues to grow I’m sure that the Gulls will reap the benefits. I know that Gulls fans got a glimpse of 3 or 4 players that were called up to fill some spots. I believe that these numbers will continue to grow, and the Gulls will begin to attract more and more homegrown players.
So, until next month, have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!
Go, Gulls, Go!
