By Isabella Disley
It’s been a season of change and heightened standards for the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians, with a debut in a new league, the addition of several younger teams, and the opening of a high-tech lab run by its new club president.
The Canadians entered teams in six divisions this spring/summer in the Canadian Premier Baseball League, a decade-old league with 13 member clubs.
“The CPBL is really strong, with a lot of talent and players,” signals ONC 18U assistant coach Troy Forgie, “but that’s really good for Ottawa baseball. It’ll be good for these guys – lots more exposure.”
The eldest Canadians group has struggled at times during their campaign, holding a 7-16-1 record in the 18U division, with fellow local entry Watson Elite a couple rungs higher at 11-15-3.
“This team’s only been playing together since the fall, so a brand new team,” highlights Forgie, whose lineup drew players from the Ottawa Knights, 613 Kings and Watson Elite on top of ONC returnees.
“I think we’re getting through the growing pains slowly, facing top talent, and now they’ve realized they’ve got to kind of step it up,” he adds. “But I think it’s gonna pay off in the end.”
Some of the youngest ONC teams have been the most successful this season, with both the 13U and 14U Major teams owning a .667 winning percentage in CPBL play.
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On top of league play, the Canadians have taken part in many tournaments in the U.S. This weekend, ONC teams are in New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Indiana.
That’s helped get additional recruiter eyes on ONC players, with several senior players making plans to attend U.S. prep schools and colleges.
Logan Forgie recently committed to the University of Dayton in Ohio, while Jake Ferris is headed to D’Youville University, an NCAA Division II program in Buffalo, NY where he’ll study business management.
The CPBL and the ONC program enhancements have provided “a good insight into next year and the future, so it’s a great change for us, our own team and organization,” indicates Ferris, who began playing baseball at just two years old, and has tried playing every position possible while falling in love with the sport’s fun and competitiveness.
“Just get better one step at a time, every day, get one percent better, and at the end, you’ll see a lot of progress,” he adds.
The Canadians received an extra boost just before the season when ONC Labs opened on Enterprise Ave., a few dingers east of ONC’s home park at the Nepean Sportsplex’s Hamilton Yards. New ONC club president TJ Burton, who pitched for Team Canada at the 2008 Olympics, is among the owners of the facility, which offers an indoor training space with FieldPro AI technology to capture swing data, pitch metrics and video analysis.
“It’s gonna help us kind of mould the future of Ottawa baseball,” Forgie says of ONC Labs. “With all the tech and all the metrics, we’re gonna be able to real-time teach them how to improve.”
ONC player Jacob Thomson has been equally impressed by the new facility.
“It’s the best high-tech in all of Ottawa, and it’s a phenomenal place to go get working,” Thomson highlights. “We’re fortunate enough to have access pretty much whenever we want, and it’s just a great spot.”
ONC Labs also gives the club a home base when outdoor play isn’t possible. That was another benefit with many new teammates on the 18U squad, which undertook team bonding drills during early-season training.
“We steal some from the Navy Seals and Canadian military, things that kind of push them, force them to bond, for them to work together in one direction,” Forgie explains.
Ferris says the connection between the players has become very strong, despite many new members in the lineup.
“I’ve only known half these guys for like five or six months, and I already know that they’re my boys and I love everything about them,” Ferris underlines. “I love all the laughs we have together on and off the field, at the tournaments, the hotels we’re at and on the field.
“The vibe’s awesome, all the time, whether it’s warm up, playing the game, after the game. Whenever it is, I love these boys.”
