2012 GVBA BC Minor Midget AAA
The Greater Victoria Baseball Association invites all Midget age players (15 to 18 years old) wishing to play BC Minor Midget AAA baseball to register for the 2012 season.
2012 Midget AAA Highlights
Our Philosophy
The GVBA’s high performance teams reflect our fundamental commitment to player development. To achieve this goal, we believe it is necessary for all our players to play, even if this means games are lost that might otherwise be won. Our performance is measured by the success of our graduating players.
Midget AAA League
The 2012 Midget AAA team will play in BC Minor’s competitive Midget AAA League. The 44-game regular season starts in early April and ends in late July. The home and away games will be against eleven other BC Minor AAA teams concentrated on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. In addition, if players and parents wish, the team can enter Tournaments and increase the number of games played.
Provincial Playoffs and National and Western Championships
Eight teams qualify for the Midget AAA Provincial Tournament at the end of July. A Provincial Select Team advances to the National Championship while the winner of the Provincial Tournament qualifies for the Western Canadian Championship Tournament.
Parks and Facilities
Midget AAA players will have access to GVBA’s ballparks and facilities which are the finest in Victoria.
2012 Manager
Midget AAA Manager Jay Longpre began his extensive ball career in Victoria. He was a member of the Victoria team that won the Junior National Championship in 1983. He has many years of coaching competitive baseball at multiple levels including Bantam AAA, Midget AAA, Premier and College. He scouted for the New York Yankees in the mid-nineties and was the General Manager of the previous two independent pro teams in Victoria - the Victoria Capitals and the Victoria Seals. It is Jay’s strong belief that, “the Midget AAA team is a key member of the GVBA high performance family as it completes our High Performance Program and provides more playing options for our kids. We now have a key developmental layer to our Junior and Senior Premier teams. As the AAA Manager, my goal will be to work closely with our combined coaching staffs to develop and graduate as many boys as possible to the next level of competitive baseball.”
Midget AAA Costs
Per player costs for the 2012 Season (including regular season travel and accommodation) are expected to be less than $3,000.
How to Register
Players and parents should contact Manager Longpre at jlongpre@shaw.ca.
Premier Eagles Celebrate Players' College Success
How do you measure success?
For the Victoria Premier Eagles baseball club, one key element is its graduates’ continued success at the next level.
Not only did five of the seven graduating Eagles from the 2011 season secure college scholarships, but all have made the line-up for their school’s ball team.
“The primary mission of the Eagles baseball program is to develop our players to be ready for the next level of competition,” says Martin Winstanley, Chair of the High Performance Committee, which oversees the Eagles program for the Greater Victoria Baseball Association. “For most, the next level will be highly-competitive college and university baseball, both in Canada and the U.S. If they are to succeed, they need not only the baseball skills but as well academic readiness, work ethic and mental toughness.”
Graduating from the 2011 Premier Eagles were:
• Daniel Peakman, playing for Colorado’s Trinidad State College, on scholarship
• Colton Lindsay, playing for Tennessee’s Volunteer Community College, on scholarship
• Ryan Adkins, playing for North Dakota’s Jamestown College, on scholarship
• Chase Cuckovich, playing for California’s Riverside Community College, on scholarship
• Nick Pivetta, playing for New Mexico Junior College, on scholarship
• Luke Hawkins playing for Vancouver Island University
• and Max Newton, playing for B.C.’s Thomson Rivers University.
“We had a group of talented athletes last year, and all got the chance to play everyday. That experience really helped them get ready for college,” says Premier Eagles Manager Gautam Srivastava. “In addition, they also did a lot of work on their own trying to make sure they were prepared to take that next step.”
The Victoria Eagles are part of the Greater Victoria Baseball Association (GVBA), whose High Performance division oversees the Eagles high-performance program for Bantam and Midget-age players from throughout the region.
As the Eagles program continues to develop, more players are seeing this as the best opportunity to continue their education while pursuing baseball at a higher level.
“With our program you are guaranteed to get a chance to play and develop,” Srivastava explains.
While some Premier League organizations measure success primarily with wins and losses, “I think it is important to put the needs of players first and foremost when it comes to college. They challenge that hurdle as individuals, not as a team.”
Looking ahead, baseball fans can expect to hear plenty more from the Eagles during the 2012 season.
“We have a good balance of older players (Grade 12) and younger players (Grade 10 and 11), including the top three players from the 2011 Bantam Eagles team that won last year’s B.C. title and earned bronze at the National Championship,” Srivastava notes.
“Our older core has been in the BC Premier League for their third year, so we will be looking to them to lead this team. I’m excited about this season for the Senior Eagles and feel we will compete in the League.”
In addition to its philosophy of player development, the Eagles’ success also comes from the depth of experience of its coaching staff.
With a lengthy baseball resume, Srivastava was a coach with the BC Selects, the 2010 Canada Cup Champions, and guest coach for the 2010 Baseball Canada Futures Camp in Toronto. He was the Zone 6 Manager for the 2010 BC Summer Games team, Team BC Coach for the 2009 Canada Summer Games, and Manager of the 2008 Baseball Canada Bantam AAA National Championship Team.
Joining Srivastava as manager of the 2012 Eagles Junior Premier team is Bob Mabee, who has been involved in Victoria baseball for more than 50 years. Mabee was Manager/Head Coach of the 2002 BC Premier Mariners National Championship Team and was a Canadian National Team member himself in 1970. His son, Henry Mabee, currently pitches for the Chicago White Sox AA affiliate Birmingham Barons.
For more information, contact Martin Winstanley, GVBA High Performance Committee Chair, at martinwinstanley@shaw.ca.