Australian Baseball League

GOLD COAST, 14 April - The highly-acclaimed Major League Baseball Australian Academy Program (MLBAAP) is set to go again. Coming into its 12th year, the program can now boast six graduates who have gone on to play in the big leagues.

Once again led by Jon Deeble, the National Team Manager, with the capable assistance of Phil Dale as Pitching Coordinator and Tony Harris as Onfield Coordinator, the program will run from 23 June to 4 August, at its perennial home, the Palm Meadows complex at Carrara, on Queensland's Gold Coast. A great deal of work continues to go into preparing the facility to properly utilise the superb winter weather and yet again provide an outstanding developmental opportunity for those identified as the best young long-term prospects in Australia.

"This year will again see a coaching staff of immense experience and skill, with former big league players Graeme Lloyd, Glenn Williams, Craig Shipley, David Nilsson, Justin Huber and Greg Jelks included along with the High Performance Managers from each state and other former national team players and coaches," said National Player and Coach Development Manager, Peter Gahan.

Players train and play six days a week and, since most are still of school age, have supervised academic sessions at night. Strength training is also part of the routine. It is a heavy workload - one to which many are not accustomed - but is designed to give the players a taste of the regimen they will experience if they get the opportunity to go into professional baseball. The camp's success is such that the model for this program has been exported by MLB to Europe, China and even back into the US.

For more information on the MLBAAP, visit the Academy's official site.