Ontario Nationals Program
The Ontario Nationals are an elite baseball organization focusing on advanced player development through a year round professional training regiment, top level competition, a fall US college schedule and highly experienced coaches/instructors. The Ontario Nationals are members of the C.P.B.L. widely regarded as one of the best high school aged leagues in Canada. The Nationals boast an Alumni list of over 100 players who have played college baseball in the US and a handful of MLB draft picks. The Nationals place an emphasis on academics, work ethic, sportsmanship and good citizenship.
The Nationals are also founding partners in the newly formed Canadian Premier Baseball League. We field individual teams from the 15u, 16u, 17u, and 18u levels. Our home park is at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ontario. Our main indoor training facility is in Kitchener, Ontario at Playball Academy Canada; a brand new 23,000 square feet facility.
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Fall Baseball
Returning players begin in mid-August and will compete in the Perfect Game World Wood Bat World Series qualifier in Cartersville, Georgia. In September, the 18U Nationals will play a 12-16 game schedule against U.S. colleges and universities. The Nationals will also travel to Arizona in October to compete in the nationally renowned Arizona Fall Classic which draws over 200 scouts annually.
16U, 15U, 14U teams begin after labour day each September and will play a 15 game local schedule.
Strength and Conditioning
At the conclusion of fall baseball, the Nationals begin their indoor strength and conditioning program. Nationals certified strength trainers implement a baseball specific strength and conditioning program. Strength and conditioning is a year-round program that varies it's frequency and intensity to coincide with baseball activity.
Winter/Spring Training
Winter training for the Nationals begins in January. Training takes place three to four days per week and focuses on individual instruction and addressing the biomechanical aspects of each player. Most indoor baseball workouts take place at Playball Academy Canada in Kitchener. As the spring closes in, more team activities are added to prepare for the CPBL season. The highlight of Winter Training is the March break trip to Vero Beach, Florida, also known as Dodgertown. While in Vero Beach, practices are combined with game competition, showcase opportunities and visits to college campuses.
Summer CPBL League Play
Upon returning from Spring trips the Nationals go back outdoors and continue to prepare for the demands of the CPBL season beginning at the end of April and running through June. The CPBL is the best of the best in Ontario. The CPBL is currently made up six organizations that currently sponsor teams in the 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18U divisions. Teams included in the new league are: Ontario Blue Jays, Toronto Mets, Great Lakes Canadians, Team Ontario, Fieldhouse Pirates and the Ontario Nationals. Outside of CPBL play in July, the Nationals travel to the USA to compete in top level tournaments.
Provincial and National Teams
The Nationals program is fully supportive of our athletes playing on both the Ontario Youth Team and the Junior National Team. We have great relationships with the management and coaching staff for both of these teams because we continue to produce athletes that meet the highest performance standards.
Scholarships and Drafts
The Nationals program has been extremely successful at producing quality players who have received scholarships (U.S. and Canadian) or have been drafted. While we won't "guarantee" that your son/athlete will receive a scholarship, we can tell you that we provide our players with opportunities to showcase their skills by playing in key Canadian and U.S. tournaments and showcases.
Obtaining a scholarship or being drafted is a direct result of skill/ability, projection and fit for the College or the MLB team. It is not often communicated to parents, but most U.S. colleges (i.e., 4-year schools) do not "typically" offer full scholarships for baseball, so cost can be an issue for a player receiving a U.S. scholarship (There are only 12 full division 1 scholarships for each team). Another viable alternative for athletes is the option to play in Canada at some great universities (e.g., University of British Columbia).
