Strathroy

Local coach Jeff Flesher took to the Rogers Centre field in September with some of the top 15-16 year old baseball players in the country for the 2011 edition of the Mizuno Elite Development Camp. The camp is hosted annually by Major League Baseball, Mizuno Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays and Baseball Canada.

Instructors included Blue Jays and the National Team staff as well as coaches from each province who assisted with on-field drills. The coaches completed the ten modules required in Baseball Canada’s NCCP Competitive Development stream.

Flesher said, “It was a fast four days. The daily routine was basically an on-field workout followed by about four hours in class and then relaxing at the Jays game. The talent level of some of the kids was unbelievable, and having a chance to work with big league and national team coaches was a great opportunity. I picked up a lot of stuff that I look forward to sharing with coaches and players in our region through NCCP clinics and other events that local associations host.”

When asked for his highlight of the camp, Flesher said the answer is easy. “The showcase game, for sure. I coached with Adam Stern (Centrefield Sports) while London umpire Sean Taylor worked the bases. It was great to be part of a London presence at a national event.”

The Mizuno Camp features an impressive list of alumni as big-leaguers Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) and Russell Martin (Montréal, QC) along with former 1^st round picks Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC), Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, QC) and Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC) have all attended in the past.