Verge: Larocque faces off against dad at Canadian Futures Showcase
Sudbury Voyageurs catcher Gabriel Larocque (Sudbury, Ont.), on the right, with his father, Jean-Gilles, at the Canadian Futures Showcase at Rogers Centre last week. Photo supplied.
September 28, 2023
By Melissa Verge
Canadian Baseball Network
It’s a sunny day in September when Gabriel Larocque takes the field at Rogers Centre, navy blue jersey on, maple leaf on the left sleeve. A pair of well worn black and white cleats balance it out.
The 14-year-old sets up in the same spot Alejandro Kirk does behind home plate.
He’s not suiting up for the Blue Jays - the young athlete is still a high school student at St. Charles College in Sudbury. He’s got a few classes left to take. The catcher is in Toronto as one of the youngest players selected to attend the Canadian Futures Showcase this year. Less than 200 talented baseball players were chosen to play in front of scouts and college recruiters with the hopes of furthering their baseball careers.
In the audience when he’s not coaching his own team at the showcase is his dad, Jean-Gilles Larocque. Under normal circumstances the older Larocque is his son's coach with the Sudbury Voyageurs, but in Toronto, they’re representing different teams.
There’s some smack talk between the two, his dad said. If they faced each other at the showcase, Larocque, a player on Team Navy, made it clear Jean-Gilles, a coach on Team Black was going to lose.
Dad’s response?
“Keep Dreaming.”
The two are as familiar with each other on the diamond as they are inside the house. His dad has been coaching him since he was around four years old. He’s also been the coach of the 18U Voyageurs since 2017, and is the owner of The Baseball Academy, an elite training facility in Sudbury.
Car rides to ball diamonds are the norm, but this one was quiet on the way to Rogers Centre. Not because Larocque was plotting a strategy to take his dad’s team down if they took the field against one another. He was getting in his sleep before the big showcase.
Before he took the field, he got some important advice from dad.
“Honestly it was enjoy it, that was literally the line was basically enjoy it because these things don’t come around every single day,” he said.
When his dad speaks, Larocque listens. Jean-Gilles has been coaching him for 10 years, and the coach recently went 8-0 with Team Ontario to win the Canada Cup. He has an extensive coaching career and post-secondary playing career dating back to 1998.
His dad’s impact on his career to date has been insurmountable, he said.
“I think first of all he’s the one who introduced me to it so that was a big help, but also just he taught me everything I know,” he said.
He’s used to his dad coaching him, but for the Futures Showcase, he was glad he had different coaches working with him. That way he was able to get opinions from different coaches and a new perspective, he said.
His dad also thought it was for the best.
“And that’s kind of the biggest thing to hear another coach's voices, another set of eyes, other people's opinions,” he said. “Because you know just because I’ve been coaching him doesn’t mean I know exactly what I’m talking about in certain situations.”
He heard good things from other coaches and players about his son's performance throughout the week. Some of them said they liked his arm strength and the way he took on a leadership role on the field, and although his swing is still a work in progress, they thought he had some good at bats, he said.
One of Gabriel Larocque’s biggest assets is his throwing arm. Photo supplied.
Defensively Larocque felt like he put on a strong performance. He has a powerful arm, a useful tool to have as a catcher, and at just 14-years-old, he can hit 86 mph off the mound.
“I think one of the biggest things is just my arm . . . how hard I throw the ball,” he said.
He’s hopeful but not sure if he caught the eye of any of the scouts or recruiters in attendance during the showcase earlier this month. Regardless, the young athlete is going to continue working on his goal of playing university or college ball, and the ultimate goal of course - the bigs.
The high school student has a plan to make it happen.
“Just work harder, so in the gym workout, work on my craft so defence, throwing, hitting keep on working on that,” he said. “And also . . . going to a lot of showcases like this one just to get my name out there so places in the US can hear about me.”