1 Thru 9: Ryan McFarland

Okotoks Dawgs pitcher Ryan McFarland answers nine questions for us as part of our 1 Thru 9 series …

1 Thru 9: St. Joseph Baseball Academy

Opening day took on new meaning for some central Alberta students during this school year. That’s because newly opened St. Joseph High School in Red Deer began accepting baseball and softball academy students for the first time last fall.

It was a welcome addition to the school and the community for Jason Chatwood, who is the lead instructor of the academy.

Chatwood made time for Alberta Dugout Stories recently to discuss the freshly-minted program, as part of our “1 Thru 9” series focusing on Alberta baseball academies.

1 Thru 9: St. Francis Xavier

If you’re around baseball long enough in the Edmonton area, you will eventually hear about St. FX, or just FX.

That’s the abbreviated form of St. Francis Xavier Baseball Academy, a program that guides student athletes as they pursue their academic and sporting dreams.

Brad Wolansky, the director of the academy, brought his extensive baseball experience to Alberta’s capital with the aim of coaching aspiring major leaguers. He made time for us and our latest installment of “1 Thru 9,” which examines the baseball academies in Alberta.

1 Thru 9: Prospects Baseball Academy

After a decade of operation, Prospects Baseball Academy in St. Albert has cultivated some incredible talent.

Those who have attended the academy include Major League Baseball (MLB) draft picks – like Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Andrew Case and Erik Sabrowski, a 2018 selection of the San Diego Padres – while others have represented the Prospects in Edmonton as members of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL) team.

Other students – such as Jackson Wark, Kobe Hyland and Taran Oulton – have gone on to play high-end college baseball in the United States and across Canada.

Jordan Blundell, meanwhile, has become the face for the Prospects in both St. Albert and Edmonton. In St. Albert, Blundell works as a hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator at Prospects Baseball Academy, while in Edmonton he was recently named head coach and director of baseball operations by the Prospects.

We caught up with Blundell recently to learn more about the academy.

1 Thru 9: Vimy Ridge Baseball Academy

While many baseball academies have been up and running for several years in Alberta – some for decades – a program in Edmonton is just stepping into the batter’s box for the first time.

Vimy Ridge Baseball Academy started up a few years ago and players will embark on their inaugural season this year.

To find out what’s going on at the school, we spoke with program director Drew Boyer (who is also the head coach of the Midget AAA Edmonton Cardinals squad) as part of our ongoing “1 Thru 9” series, which sees us pose nine questions to academy directors across the province.

1 Thru 9: Absolute Baseball Academy

Standing in the shadow of Foothills Stadium in Calgary is Absolute Baseball Academy.

And while the aging stadium – which was home to the Triple-A Calgary Cannons and the independent league Vipers – serves as a reminder of the great history of baseball in Cowtown, the academy signals a hopeful future for the game in Alberta’s largest city.

Academy director Cam McLachlan, who is also a coach with the Junior Dinos program, made time for us and told us what is happening with baseball at 2221 Crowchild Trail N.W. in Calgary. Here’s what he shared with us in our ongoing “1 Thru 9” look at the province’s baseball academies.

1 Thru 9: Badlands Academy

Situated in the heart of Alberta’s badlands, Badlands Baseball Academy is a diamond oasis on the prairies.

As we continue our “1 Thru 9” Academy profiles, we chat with Jeff Amos about what makes Badlands as good as it is.

1 Thru 9: Vauxhall Academy

Vauxhall is known as the “Potato Capital of the West.”

But after more than a decade in operation, the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball is giving the town another reason to be put on the map.

This is our second installment of our “1 Thru 9” academy profiles.

1 Thru 9: Dawgs Academy

It’s about time we took you to school.

More specifically, we’re going to invite you to take a closer look at some of the baseball academies operating across Alberta.

This summer we debuted a feature called “1 Thru 9” that allowed our readers to get to know some of the players who were taking the field at ballparks throughout the province.

We’re applying that same 9-question format to the baseball academies in Alberta. Our first stop is in Okotoks, where the Dawgs Academy has been molding student athletes for years.

Talkin’ Alberta Baseball

After more than a year of writing stories about baseball in our province, we started talking about how to bring you even more.

One of the things identified early on was a podcast. And while the baseball season might be over, that doesn’t mean we’re going to slow down.

In fact, Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast is our way of keeping the conversation going year-round.