Oyen definitely a baseball town
CARRIE KELLY
The main economic driver for Oyen is agriculture, but on top of being a farming community, it's definitely a baseball town.
Since the Badlands Baseball Academy began in 2009, word has continued to spread across the country that if your teenager is serious about baseball, the Academy can help them hone the skills necessary to be an elite player, while also developing leadership skills and providing them with the best education possible.
Head coach Jeff Amos had never heard of Oyen (187 kilometres north of Medicine Hat) prior to five years ago, but the job sounded perfect. Assistant coach Elliott Shrive came with him from Ontario and despite a bit of culture shock at first, it has been a smooth transition.
This year, there are 17 boys from throughout Alberta (including two from nearby Acadia Valley), Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and
Quebec who have come to Oyen to play baseball and improve their skills.
They practice in the winter months in the indoor facility that had originally been built as a pig barn, but was sitting empty after Puratone Pork filed for bankruptcy.
The community always steps up to help, but because it's such a small town (population 1,000), it can be challenging to get enough homes to billet the ball players. Yet the small population is also a draw for those considering the Badlands Baseball Academy, especially the parents.
"If you're going to send your son away from home at 15, the small town is very comforting. The whole town kind of looks after them and the boys can be focused and they don't get lost in a small school. They're able to get involved in the community," Amos said.
The boys regularly go to the long-term care facility to play shuffleboard and bean bag toss with the residents, help with food bank drives for the Food Bank and set up tables for the Farmers' Market.
They play 35 to 40 games in the fall and a similar number in the spring. This February, the Badlands Badgers travelled to Las Vegas to play and will be playing in Kamloops in April against the top teams in Western Canada. In 2015, the team made its first ever national championship appearance, while finishing top three in the province for three consecutive years.
They practice five to six days a week and Amos
mixes up the conditioning and practice elements to
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"We've had them playing floor hockey to change up the routine," he said.
When they go back to their families at the end of the school year, most of them join teams in their home communities, but Amos encourages them to also pursue other activities and interests.
"As much as it is important to train for your sport, it's important to take time off as well," he said.
The academy got its start in large part thanks to a $500,000 grant through the Rural Community Adaptation Grant program. Tuition fees contribute a significant amount to the Badlands Baseball Academy, but not enough. The
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