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A warehouse lined with turf, netting and a weight room tucked away in the corner sits mostly quiet on weekday mornings in an area of Paradise dotted by commercial businesses.
But in the afternoons, evenings — and mostly over the winter — it’s a bustling hub for kids of all ages, both boys and girls, honing their craft to get an edge on the baseball diamond.
Premier Sports Academy opened in February 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic brought life mostly to a halt for many over the following couple of years.
But the passion and the vision for owner Ryan Sweeney and the business’s director of operations Noah Anderson wasn’t swayed.
The goal was always to get Newfoundland and Labrador serious about baseball. In the same way that millions of dollars is pumped into minor hockey programs over the winter, developing kids into the province’s next Alex Newhook and Dawson Mercer, PSA wants to turn the boys and girls of summer into pros — while also keeping the game fun.
“It’s slow but sure. I think once people start to take baseball more seriously, we will have more results,” Sweeney told CBC News while on the road to Atlanta with three kids representing Newfoundland and Labrador on a national team playing in an international tournament.
“We’re really big on routines with the kids, and once that stuff starts to permeate across everybody, you just see the elevation of play kind of raise.”
Premier Sports Academy in Paradise is turning out the talent. A handful of prospects who have worked through the program have committed to play ball at universities and colleges across Canada and the United States.
But whatever the goal of the individual player may be, PSA’s ability to show them the path to the next level has been working. It’s something that never used to be as obvious, in the same way that hockey players know they have to play AAA and get drafted to the QMJHL or sign to an NCAA team for a chance to get seen by NHL clubs.
“It’s a path that people understand how to follow. That’s what we’re trying to develop with baseball,” said Sweeney.
“It’s to help kids understand that here’s the path if you’re looking to progress in this sport, and once parents see that identified path in baseball I think they’ll look at baseball as just as much a viable opportunity for their kids as they do a sport like hockey.”
The stable
Just over three years since opening the doors, PSA has a growing roster of ball players who have made the jump to the next level with lessons learned through Sweeney and Anderson who both played university ball before bringing their knowledge of the game home with them.
Rylan Andrews of Conception Bay South, Eli Dunphy of St. John’s and Nicholas Smith of Flatrock are among the eight N.L. players who are playing or have committed to play college baseball next year after developing their game with PSA.
Andrews, an 18-year-old pitcher, is signed with Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C.
“I only started playing baseball when I was 12 years old. After seeing this and what Noah went through — he played college baseball, same with Ryan — I seen that this is something I’d like to do,” Andrews said.
“Going to university, baseball is definitely a plus to go along with my academics.”
Dunphy, also an 18-year-old pitcher, is PSA’s most recent “graduate.”
He signed with McCook Community College in Nebraska, where he’ll start his collegiate baseball career next year. Dunphy’s cousin Jay Miller plays Division 1 NCAA baseball at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and was his inspiration to push for the next level.
Dunphy said he also wants to help his family in the long run.
“I come from [a place] where I want to help my family financially,” he said. “Playing college baseball will give me an education where I can get a degree or a job that will help and also, if I can get a pro opportunity, that will help me financially to support them. That’s one of the bigger reasons why.”
Rounding out the list, and breaking the pitcher’s streak, is Smith who catches for Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, N.D. — somebody who Anderson whispered is a “really good hitter.”
Smith headed into his sophomore season with the Royals earlier this month. He said he’s excited to get back to help lead his team to a playoff run. Leaving Flatrock to play ball internationally is something that has always been a dream, he said.
“Once you have a dream it’s real easy to put the work in and make sure you do everything right. But it was definitely a large leap, and it’s not for the weak or the mild,” Smith said.
“It’s definitely something that you really need to push for and a lot of work ethic goes into it.”
As for turning dreams into reality, Sweeney stands by the “changing the culture” mantra as the foundation that PSA is built on.
That includes getting more girls involved in the game. He points to Jaida Lee of St. John’s as an important figure in that movement.
At the Canada Games last summer, Lee became the first girl to play on a boys’ team representing Newfoundland and Labrador. Her history-making game drew national attention and came with an offer from the Toronto Blue Jays to throw out the first pitch at a game last summer.
“There’s certainly been a really good grassroots movement push to grow female baseball in Newfoundland,” Sweeney said.
“I think female baseball would still be very strong because of the grassroots push and the fact they have someone like Jaida to look up to, who lives here, who plays on the same fields that they play on, and it shows them that these things are possible.”
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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