By Ottawa Knights Baseball Club
The Ottawa Royals have adopted a new name: the Ottawa Knights.
Since the Ottawa Royals joined forces with the Ottawa Knights in 2012, the programs operated under two separate names. It made sense at the time as both programs were geared toward different levels and ages of play.
But baseball in Ottawa is continuing to evolve for the better of youth development. There are increases in clinics being offered, Little League in the area is adjusting to offer more varied competition, and new travel teams are cropping up to fill the void.
The result is the club’s decision to focus on elite student-athlete development, with all teams operating as the Ottawa Knights.
For over 20 years, the Ottawa Knights have been focused on developing opportunities for players to continue to play in college, universities and professionally.
The difference now is that baseball has grown, the talent levels have expanded, and the Ottawa Knights have added teams at the U14 and U15 levels to complement the U16 and U18 squads. All teams are focused on preparing our student-athletes for the rigors and discipline required to continue to excel in their baseball careers.
The Ottawa Knights are not only focused on teaching the skills, but are committed to help our players realize their goals by giving them the tools and opening the doors to future collegiate opportunities. Some of these elements include:
All teams play in the Fergie Jenkins Showcase League, a premiere leagues dedicated showcasing players in front of college coaches;
Personal skill showcase videos – the videos are critical in their marketing of their skills to collegiate coaches
Exposure to U.S. collegiate coaches while playing at Spring Training in the States and select showcase tournaments
Providing each of our players with their own web-based portfolio to help players and their parents with their recruitment efforts
Building links to the next level
All of our coaches and management focus on developing key relationships with a number of NCAA, NJCAA and NAIA coaches to help match players and schools. This is an ongoing dedicated effort made by the Ottawa Knights staff.
Finally, baseball doesn’t only have to be played in the U.S. There a number of excellent quality teams and programs being played in Canadian Universities. The Ottawa Knights are fortunate to have both Head Coaches of the University and Carleton University as part of our coaching staff.
The Ottawa Knights are committed to continuing to give back to the community. Players, coaches and management provide development clinics and support community-based initiatives to develop the game.
The Ottawa Knights are proud of their history in our community and look forward to continuing to do so for the next 20 years!