Ottawa Patriots mastermind Paul Villeneuve with his grandchildren decked out in Patriots hoodies: Left to right: Rylan, Avery, Skyler, Espyn, Caelan and Easton in grandpa’s arm.

April 7, 2023

“Hi, my name is Paul.”

Coach Villeneuve helps kids and community

By Scott Langdon

Canadian Baseball Network

Paul Villeneuve had an innovative idea to provide indoor winter training for his Ottawa Patriots youth players.

His plan would also save the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 627 in Greely, Ont. from permanently closing during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But it soon turned out that it was Villeneuve (Ottawa, Ont.) who needed to be saved.

Villeneuve, 69, is president and coach of the Patriots Baseball Club and a long-time volunteer in the Ottawa Valley region. The Patriots were created with the support of Mike McGahan, a local entrepreneur, and are co-managed by Daniel Cordero, a former minor league pro player and Villeneuve.

Cordero pitched four seasons, appearing in 51 games for the Atlanta Braves system (rookie-class Braves, rookie-class Danville and class-A Rome). Cordero pitched his final two seasons (2016-17) with the Ottawa Champions of the independent Canadian-American Association.

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 627 …. before ….

Villeneuve knew the Greely Legion branch had financial problems. He offered to rent part of the facility for indoor training. Proceeds after costs would be paid to the Legion to help keep it in business.

But days before the opening, he was hospitalized with necrotizing pancreatitis and spent seven weeks in hospital, four of them in intensive care.

“Paul was deathly sick,” said Linda Wyman, president of the Legion’s Greely branch. “I had never heard of him before he approached us with his idea for the training facility, but our branch would not have survived if not for Paul.”

Dylan and Shannon Villeneuve, Paul’s son and daughter, ran the program while Paul’s wife, Anne, attended the hospital each day. Survival, for Paul, the facility and Branch 627, was a family affair.

“I had committed to provide the Legion with $9,000 to pay the heating bill. My kids stepped in and got it done,” Villeneuve said.

The 6,000 square foot facility features artificial turf, a batting cage, two pitching mounds and other equipment and amenities. Villeneuve used his personal savings to buy the equipment and prepared the Legion’s old gymnasium for baseball use with a group of volunteers before his illness hit.

“Paul has given to the game in a selfless and caring way for many years. He does so without any agenda other than a love of baseball and care for kids,” said Greg Hamilton, coach and director, national teams, Baseball Canada.

Today, the Patriots and other Ottawa-area baseball organizations use the indoor facility from January to April. Villeneuve turned $12,000 over to the Legion two years ago, purchased a big-screen television and paid the Internet bills. This past winter the contribution increased to $15,000. The facility is in a gymnasium adjacent to a lounge, but separate from it.

“Our branch is out in the country and there is no bus service. We could not survive by relying on members to drop in,” Wyman said. “We need the rental business such as the facility and planned functions for people to come here. Seniors who come for events are amazed to see the baseball program going on.

“It’s great to see so many kids. They will help us reach our 50th anniversary in 2024.”

* * *

Many organizations, teams, championships

Villeneuve started coaching in 1992 when his son, Dylan, now 37, began playing playing. He has coached with the East Nepean Little League, Ottawa Nepean Canadians, helped form the Ottawa Royals Baseball Club and then joined the South Ottawa Little League.

His teams have made provincial finals many times and his East Nepean Junior (age 13/14) team represented its district at the national championships at Sydney N.S. in 2000.

The Patriots organization provides competitive baseball for youth at 15U and 18U levels for six years. They will add a 16U team this season. The 15U team competes in the League Inter-Cite Metropolitaine in Montreal. The older teams play in the Montreal-based Can-Am United League.

Each team enters three or four tournaments each summer in Canada and the United States.

Villeneuve was also instrumental in bringing various Little League and independent teams from the Ottawa Valley together for a friendly competition last summer called the Friends of Ottawa tournament. It was the first of what he hopes will be many such events to bring the Ottawa baseball community closer together.

Members of the Patriots organization have also hosted and funded a barbeque at the local Don McGahan Boys and Girls Club for several years, feeding more than 100 children. Villeneuve says it is an “important ask” for team members to give back.

Baseball, Villeneuve says, has added a lot to his life including personal growth and continuous learning. He grew up in Orleans, an east end suburb of Ottawa, playing fastball, not baseball. He enjoys teaching youth players the strategies of the sport.

“I don’t feel I am great at teaching kids the high-level technical skills like some of the elite coaches. But I love teaching kids about the game and its strategies. I always tell them ‘If you are going to play the game, then you need to understand it.’”

Like his players, Villeneuve believes in continuous learning, on the ball field and off.

“I wish I was the coach I am going to be 10 years from now. And I am happy I am better than the coach I was 10 years ago,” he said. “As a coach, I am firm about our players’ behavior on the field … respect for opponents, umpires, teammates, coaches and others. Sport can teach valuable life lessons. For me, I am happiest if they have fun.”

He holds mini-competitions among his players during practices to provide incentive and rewards and to help make it fun to learn the skills of the game. The reward is a gift card to a local Subway restaurant. He estimates the gesture has cost about $7,000 over the years.

“I’m the Subway coach to a lot of the kids,” he laughs.

No doubt, given his recent illness, Villeneuve appreciates not only what he provides to players, but what they provide to him.

He introduces himself to players by simply saying: “Hi, my name is Paul.”

“Obviously, I am much older than the kids I coach, but I want them to feel at ease, that we are a team, we are all in this together. Calling me Mr. Villeneuve would create a barrier for some kids and feel awkward for me,” Villeneuve said. “Besides, having the kids call me Paul makes me feel young, just like them.”

Hamilton says kids learn when they are comfortable asking questions and at ease in their environment and adds: “Paul is authentic, friendly and encouraging in his approach to player development.”

There are 100s of kids in the Ottawa region and many participants at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 627 who are grateful for his attitude and community spirit.

Langdon: Villeneuve runs Patriots, saves a Legion