September 17, 2023

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

Athletic, with a body built for baseball.

Those are two things that you can’t teach, said Muskoka Outlaws head coach Jeff Amos, that Aaron Hicks brings to shortstop every time he takes the field.

The 17-year-old is one of under 200 young baseball players selected from across the country to play at the Canadian Futures Showcase beginning Tuesday - an opportunity for draft and college eligible players to further their careers.

“I think because he's athletic and because he's got a really good baseball body, it gives him the ability to really become as good a player as he wants to be with hard work,” Amos said.

On days where he’s burnt out, Hicks, an east coaster who moved to Ontario last year to play for the Muskoka Outlaws, still puts in the work. At the end of the day, even if you’re tired, you’ve still got to show up and train your hardest, Hicks said.

There’s the physical training he puts in to be prepared come game day, but also the mental work.

As an up-and-coming young ball player, he had to find a way to deal with high pressure situations on the field.

When things get stressful at shortstop, he sings. Not a belting voice that echoes through the stadium he’s playing in. This show, fans unfortunately don’t get a ticket to see. He keeps it in his head.

It’s a reset move, a takeaway from provincial team sessions he’s had with a sports psychologist in New Brunswick.

“That calms my nerves down,” he said. “I like to sing just in my head just to take my mind off whatever I’m feeling. Either sing, or…….mostly sing honestly.”

The shortstop was chosen as captain of the Muskoka Outlaws last year as a Grade 11 student, which is a bit out of the ordinary. He was picked because he’s an athlete that all his teammates respect, and gets along with everybody, Amos said, whether they’re older or younger. He’s supportive of everyone on the field no matter the situation.

“I’m always cheering guys on, I’m always hyping guys up,” Hicks said. “And I find when I’m doing that I play better baseball because everyone’s happy around me, everyone’s excited to be there, and it just makes me more comfortable knowing that they have the confidence to go out to play.”

Hicks is also very versatile on the diamond, with the ability to play a number of different positions, including second base. The young athlete is planning to show scouts and recruiters at the showcase his skills on the field, and that he deserves to be there.

It’s an opportunity for all athletes to take the Rogers Centre field and show what they’ve got, said TJ Burton, Blue Jays program manager, Amateur Baseball.

“I think the showcase is an opportunity for the best 140 to 160 players from across Canada to come to a major league stadium and show their talents in front of major league scouts, NCAA recruiters, junior college recruiters with the hopes of, you know, expanding their careers past high school,” Burton said.

Since the showcase began nine years ago, they’ve shrank the number of teams from 12 to six, with the goal being to really zone in on the top talent from the different provinces, and also raise the competition as high as possible. That gives the players who are selected to attend the showcase a greater opportunity to stand out.

Hicks has the ability to go far, it’s just how much he wants it, his coach said. And if he really wants it, how hard is he willing to work to achieve his goals, because he’s capable of accomplishing some really exciting things in the sport.

He’s currently working on getting in contact with schools to go to the states for college ball next year - a process that might be expedited if he catches the eye of scouts or recruiters at the showcase beginning Tuesday.

However it happens, he wants to continue moving forward with the sport.

“That's my goal, to get to the next level and just to keep progressing from there and see where that takes me,” Hicks said.