The High Performance Training Academy is a key part of Baseball Victoria, Baseball Australia and the Melbourne Ace’s ongoing commitment to formulating genuine pathways for Victorian youth baseball players to fine-tune their skills and achieve their goals.
The program was reignited by Damian Shanahan in 2009/10 and has since grown to encompass over 100 participants over a range of different age groups and genders. Training occurs 5pm – 9pm week nights at the Melbourne Ballpark during the winter months.
The High Performance Academy has had the pleasure of seeing it’s participants go on to represent Australia at the Major League, Minor League, National and State level.
2017/18 has been a marquee period for the program, with many upgrades to the Melbourne Ballpark High Performance facility being installed. Prior to the 2017 summer season, the Melbourne Ballpark Committee of Management in conjunction with Baseball Victoria invested in 5 new bullpen mounds along the third baseline, allowing for a larger volume of players to practice at the same time.
Following this, in early 2018, a batting tunnel was built behind the new bullpens to allow for more hitting drills than the main diamond was able to account for. A canopy and additional lighting was also added to the tunnel so that training could continue in the dark, rainy winter months.
Alongside the batting tunnel, a weights gym was fitted to accommodate the High Performance Academy’s commitment to strength training and physical fitness. The gym includes various weight machines, different strength therabands, kettle bells, medicine balls, Driveline ball sets and two mini trampolines for Driveline purposes.
High Performance Manager, Damian Shanahan believes that the addition of extra coaches to offer position specific drills is a huge advantage.
“One of the best things about the High Performance Academy is that, with the level of coaching experience we’ve been able to accumulate within the group and the extra facilities, we can run anywhere from 5 – 10 position drills simultaneously, giving the players the best value for their time and money.”
18-year old, Jamie Young, has been a part of the High Performance Academy for the last 3 years and thinks it’s been more than worth his while.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Academy. It’s helped me pick out parts of my game that need work and then we work on those things to strengthen my performance overall. It’s very individual and it’s definitely something I look forward to every year.”
Jaime has just completed year 12 and has already received a full baseball scholarship from Lake Land College in Illinois, USA.
“It’s so exciting. You grow up seeing the older guys around you get picked up by colleges and signed by MLB clubs so for me to be able to follow in those footsteps is really awesome”.
The High Performance Academy will continue on through until the end of August in preparation for the 2018/19 VSBL season.
For more information, please contact Damian Shanahan at damian.shanahan@baseballvictoria.com.au