By Jacques Lanciault

This fall, Quebec’s Matthew Bomersback had his first experience at an American college and not only did he enjoy the adventure, but he also shone.

He did so well that at the end of the fall season at Dawson Community College in Montana the team’s head coach gave him the closer role for next spring. The end of game belongs to him.

It must be said that Bomersback had prepared well for his first training camp in an American college. In addition, to going from five outings with the LaSalle Cardinals during the season, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Quebec Elite Junior Baseball League, the right-handed gunner trained with the group of the Center de performance Evolution Athlete with David Leblanc and Jean-Luc Blaquière.

“During the summer, I trained four-to-five times a week with David, my trainer for five years now. This summer, it was been more difficult because of COVID and lockdown, but David managed the workouts so that we could respect social distancing during all our shifts. “

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An almost normal fall in Montana

The COVID-19 pandemic hardly disrupted the fall semester at Dawson, at least during the months of September and October. Nor did it disrupt the training camp of the Buccaneers, who play in Division II of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

“We were very lucky at my college,” Bomersback told us by email. “We had the opportunity to play 14 games during the fall season. Even our classes were held in class until the end of October. “

“Unfortunately however, there has been a sharp increase in positive cases and the college has made the decision to end the classroom course and switch to the online course for the remainder of the term.”

And, the young man from Kirkland who is studying kinesiology with a view to becoming a personal trainer or physiotherapist after his baseball career really appreciated the situation.

“It was a lot of fun taking our lessons in a classroom,” he said. “Even though now everything is online, I consider myself lucky, because I still attended my classes in class for two months ... while all my friends in CEGEPs and Universities in Quebec never returned to the school this fall.”

Dawson College, where Bomersback studied and played, is located in the small town of Glendive, which has a population of less than 5,000.

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Life in Montana… shocking

Obviously, it’s different from a metropolis like Montreal, even from a metropolis living in times of pandemic!

“Life here is really different from life in Montreal. Glendive, my college town, is five hours from the Saskatchewan border,” he said. “When I arrived, I had a real culture shock. I have lived in Montreal for 20 years, that is to say my whole life, to move to such a small town. Phew, it was not easy!

“But it all got more relaxed when I realized that I’m actually here to be the best player I can be . . . and it was so much easier to achieve it here!”

His team played no less than 14 games this fall. Some were played against scout teams, which are teams made up of young players whose primary goal was to find a place in a college for the future.

The team has had great success.

“We won 13 of our 14 games,” he said. “In addition to the scout teams, we faced two other collegiate teams, one which plays in the same division as us in the NJCAA and another in the NAIA. In almost all of our games our attack has been devastating. “

Obviously, health rules were in force, both at school, for training and for matches.

“At school, wearing a mask was compulsory. In baseball, we took our temperature before our practices and before our games,” Bomersback said. “Our coach had a bench purchased for the pitchers in the bullpen, so that we had enough room to respect social distancing. “

“On the other hand, I can say that the restrictions in Montana are much more relaxed than in Quebec. In the city, wearing a mask is not necessary, there is no limit for gatherings and all restaurants and shops are open.”

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From starter … to reliever

When Bomersback was training with Baseball Canada Academy (ABC), he played both as a pitcher and as a positional player, often at third base.

Since joining the junior elite division, he has devoted himself solely to pitching. During his summer, he was forced to change his way of throwing.

“I changed my mechanics because I felt pain in my shoulder and had difficulty throwing like I used to,” he said. “When I arrived in Montana, I noticed that with the change I had no more pain . . . and that I had a lot more freedom on the mound! “

And Bomersback credits the change for the great success , he has had this fall.

“I was very efficient on the mound this fall. I led my team’s relievers in innings and strikeouts. I finished the season with one of the best earned run averages among our pitchers. “

“Towards the end of the fall, my coach gave me the job of closer . . . I was put in several situations where I could obtain the save . . . and I got the job done.?

“At first I was a starting pitcher, but when I started pitching late, when the score was tight, I saved the game and even won, I understood that it was really a suitable position for me. “

The 5-foot-10, 200 pounder has been back in Quebec for two weeks now. He will be returning to Montana on Jan. 4, because the winter season begins on Jan. 30.