New bosses in Quebed: Douglas Toro, Jesen Therrien and Marc-Antoine Bérubé of Baseball Canada Academy (ABC)

Sept. 3, 2021

By Baseball Québec

The Baseball Academy of Canada (ABC) is officially moving to the second phase of its redesign.

The last two years have brought a lot of new challenges due to the pandemic and the implementation of certain recommendations from the Better Sport report on Baseball Quebec’s high performance. Despite all the obstacles, Maxime Hockhoussen led the ABC to another level.

“I would like to thank Maxime for the hard work he has given to the program and to the CBA athletes, he was able to lead the group during a complex period, ”said Baseball Quebec general manager Maxime Lamarche.

Effective Sept. 1, Maxime Hockhoussen, interim chief program coordinator, returns exclusively to his coaching duties and will be positional players coordinator.

It is with great pride that we bring back to the family two former players from here in addition to promoting another already with us. Jesen Therrien, Douglas Toro and Marc-Antoine Bérubé join the management of the Baseball Academy of Canada. Therrien reached the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies, while Toro attended Lynn University and Bérubé pitched in the Oakland A's system after pitching at Pitt.

Baseball Quebec expects with these hires it is banking on the past, present and future, relying on their knowledge, experience, skills and network of contacts to enable athletes to achieve their goals. Never has the ABC sent so many players to solid American institutions in the NCAA and NJCAA. The goal is that it wants the number to grow. With Bérubé, Therrien and Toro at the head of the program, Baseball Quebec are convinced that we will reach new heights.

Therrien (Montreal, Que.) who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011, will serve as the program’s director of operations. Baseball Quebec’s GM Lamarche, will be at his side for his debut to allow him to gain some experience.

Therrien’s role will be to manage the entire program. This includes putting in place strategic planning, program budget planning and entry of new sources of funding. He will have to communicate the CBA’s vision and working methods across the federation and will also have to establish and maintain strong networks of contacts in the United States and Canada to ensure that athletes succeed academically. Finally, Therrien will have to make sure that the various departments of the ABC (baseball, performance and human) are in symbiosis. His role will be to take care of the program as a whole.

“The Academy has played a big role in my career,” said Therrien. “This is where I turned my dreams into goals. I want to make sure that the ABC represents excellence in Quebec and for that, we must be present everywhere on the grounds of Quebec.”

Toro (Longueuil, Que.) is the second member to join the new CBA leadership. Abraham Toro’s brother will serve as director of player development. He will have the role of making the annual training plan, supporting the performance department, leading development and technical and tactical performance of the athletes and coordinating the activities of the coaching team. Toro’s mission will be to lead the recruitment and selection of athletes in addition to creating the competition schedules. He will also have to make sure to be in contact with Sport-études and will have the challenge of not letting any talented player pass in remote regions of Quebec.

As for Bérubé, he will see his tasks increase at the Academy. He is the new director of performance and will be responsible for getting athletes to perform beyond expectations. He will have the role of establishing a vision in relation to performance.

Bérubé (Trois Pistoles, Que.) will lead the annual schedule of team meetings required for sports psychology support, sports therapy, nutrition, sports medicine and physical preparation. As well, he will support the player development department and participate in the realization of the complete annual training plan. He will also be responsible for the evaluation of athletes and will have to establish modern practices at the ABC. In addition, he will be responsible for the integrated support team which includes all of the specialists outside baseball. He has been with the Academy for a little over two years already.

“My primary goal is to bring the ABC to the top of baseball programming and make it the best program in the world. Nothing less,” Bérubé said.

Therrien, Toro and Bérubé will also have important roles in the structure of the federation. They are sensitive to the reality of Quebec amateur baseball having themselves grown up in our federation.

In the coming days the team of coaches who will have the challenge of bringing the young athletes of the Academy to the peak of their potential will be named. At the same time, the integrated support team will also be decided.