Feb. 10, 2020

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

Only hours after a storm left most of Southern Ontario locked in winter’s latest frigid embrace, the sounds of warmer days emanate from within The Baseball Zone in Mississauga, Ont.

Inside the 15,000 square-foot baseball-specific training facility, the Ontario Terriers 18U squad is getting ready for the upcoming campaign.

In terms of accolades, 2019 was another outstanding year for the Terriers.

On May 1, Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) became the first program alumni to graduate to the major leagues, firing off 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball against the eventual National League East-leading Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta.

On June 4, Trevor Brigden (Toronto, Ont.) and Kyle MacDonald (Mississauga, Ont.) became the latest Terrier alumnus to be drafted by a big league organization, going in the 17th and 27th rounds, respectively. For those counting, the organization has now produced 32 draftees since its inception in 2006.

In September, a total of seven Terriers were selected to take part in Roberto Alomar's Tournament 12 at Rogers Centre. One of the seven, Tyson Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.), went on to be the tournament’s MVP after batting .667 (6/9) with a pair of doubles across three games.

Later that month Austin Gomm (Mississauga, Ont.) joined fellow Terriers Connor O'Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) and Elijha Hammill (Oakville, Ont.) on the Canadian Junior National Team's 18U squad in North Korea. Austin, the eldest of the two Gomm brothers, was named an All-World Shortstop after slashing .345/.483/.406 with 10 RBI over eight games at the annual event..

We caught up with some of the aforementioned talent and asked them what it means to play for the Terriers and wear the blue and gold.

CBN - Why the Ontario Terriers?

T. GOMM - "For my brother and I, we had been coming here (The Baseball Zone) since before we were a Terrier. Working with everyone here, R.J (Rick Johnston) and Army (Ryan Armstrong), and we liked the way that they ran it".

HAMMILL - "I'm really the same. When I was younger, I'd come in here for pitching lessons when I was eight or seven or so. I'd see Army, who is a great coach. I loved the way he disciplined everyone. So, years go by, I came back here and joined the Terriers because the facility and the people are great.”

O'HALLORAN - "For me, I don't even know if I knew who the Terriers organization was when I was 13. My dad had known R.J. because they had played together back in the day. My dad knew that R.J. knew what he was talking about with baseball, and he liked all the guys that they had over here, how they ran the program from the Tevlins down. I remember my first day here, R.J. yelled at me, but it was the kindest yell ever. I'd say that the coaching staff was the first thing that got me to come and play here".

A. GOMM - "As Tyson said, we had been coming here for a long time. Connor's dad and Rick came out to watch me at an all-star game in Oshawa, and they were the first ones to offer me a spot on a travel team, and we jumped on it right away because we knew them for a long time".

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CBN - As a member of the Terriers, you often have a chance to compete against teams that feature older, advanced talent. Is there a memory or experience that stands out for you?

A. GOMM - "The past two years, we played this team named the Ft. Lauderdale Stars and they have former pro guys (free agents). They're all men in their 20's, and we're only 16-17. So we got to see some fast pitching. You can't blink."

O'HALLORAN - "I think, with those college teams, you see how you really have to be a team. You can see that they're all rooting for each other, and that's something you don't see as much when you're playing locally. You realize that those guys are there because they love doing it. Sometimes with the local teams around here, they're just playing for something to do. You really see the love that they have for each other, and you want to be part of that at the next level. And that's what we're getting prepared for here.

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CBN - Are there any experiences that come to mind when playing with other Terriers over the years?

A. GOMM - "I got to play with his (Connor’s older brother Ryan, now at Orange Coast College in his second year) brother and Ben Abram, so that was pretty cool. His brother and I played the same position, kind of middle infield, and watching how good of a leader he is was amazing. It was easy to understand why he was on the Junior National team for so many years, and why he got to go to Oklahoma.”

O'HALLORAN - "I like watching him (Abram) too. You see him throw his bullpen, and it was so much more advanced than anything I had seen from a guy who was somewhat in the ballpark of our age group."

HAMMILL - “My first year here, I was playing with the 15U team in Florida before going up to 16. Then, Skip (Scott VandeValk) brought me up for one game to play with the 18U Terriers, and Abram was pitching that day. I got to see him throw, and it was just a great experience. (Austin Gomm's) first at-bat in that game, he hits it off the centre field wall. It was amazing. Just a great experience to play up at that level and see how they play at a higher age.”

T. GOMM - “I was 14 or 15 years old in my first year, and we were training at the Baseball Zone when I was asked to catch bullpens for the 18s. They were like; here, catch this guy, and it was Evan Elliott throwing 90-91. The week after, they say catch this guy, and it was Ben Abram throwing 92-93. I'm used to, like, 75 at that point."

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CBN - Is there any advice that the coaching staff has shared with you? Something that you take into each practice or game?

HAMMILL - "Our coaches always say that this is a game of failure. Even if you get beaten up a couple of times, here and there, you have to pick yourself up and keep going. Get the next play, the next at-bat. They repeat that a lot, and it's something that I take into every game and life in general".

O'HALLORAN - "It's almost too many to count, from all the guys. I've heard Army say a lot of great stuff about pitching, but he's a pitching guy. Just all the coaches, everyone is so knowledgeable about aspects of the game. You take a little piece from everybody and then put it all together yourself later on."

A. GOMM - " “Just being aggressive, not being shy. To be yourself because, obviously, you got here for a reason. Keep playing like yourself, and no one else"“

T. GOMM - "They tell you that everything that happens inside the Baseball Zone will reflect on what will happen outside on the diamond. You have to put in your work."

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CBN - In addition to making you better on the field, the coaching staff also emphasizes their desire to establish maturity amongs their recruits. Can you touch on that?

O'HALLORAN - "(When we're on the road), we get the hotel talk. Don't be messing around and follow your curfew. I think everyone does a pretty good job. We've never had any big issues that I know of."

HAMMILL - "They make sure we're disciplined. If breakfast is at a certain time, they make sure we're down there at that time. If not, you're not getting breakfast. They tell us the time we have to be at the buses for, and if you miss that..."

O'HALLORAN - "I missed it once. I had to do, like, 300 sit ups or something. I missed it big time... Slept right through it."

T. GOMM - "Once that happens, you don't do it again."

HAMMILL - "Yeah. You set two alarms, and you make sure you get there at the specific time they tell you, haha."

- Follow Andrew Hendriks on Twitter (@77hendriks)