The beginnings of the ABC
(Pour la version en français, CLIQUEZ ICI)
Founded in Montreal in 1990, the Academie de Baseball du Canada (ABC) is the result of a concerted effort by Baseball Canada, Baseball Quebec and the Montreal Expos. The ABC is a training center offering a High Performance baseball program for elite players from Quebec (and some from the Maritimes) aged between 16 and 19 years old.
Initially, the program's main function was to nurture Canada's senior national team. The ABC had the task of training the best players in Eastern Canada during the off-season, from September to April. Since major competitions were then reserved for amateurs, most of the players on the Senior National Team were over the age of 21. Baseball Canada, which already had a base in Vancouver with the National Baseball Institute (NBI), could now train its best players from coast to coast.
Subsequently, in order to better serve the clientele who wanted to experience the adventure of US Colleges, the ABC's mandate was gradually modified to accomodate a younger clientele. In 1999, the baseball Les Ailes du Quebec was born. The best 17-and-under players in the province could be brought together to play together during the summer season.
Since professional players have been able to participate in the Olympic Games, Baseball Canada has focused on its National Junior Team (18U). This new baseball program of Les Ailes du Quebec paved the way for our best talent to make the Canadian Junior Team.
High Performance Baseball Quebec remained split in two: the athletes were part of the Ailes du Quebec during the summer, and the vast majority continued with the ABC program in the fall and winter.
Merger between Les Ailes du Quebec and the Academie de Baseball du Canada (ABC)
In order to standardize High Performance baseball in the province of Quebec, Les Ailes du Quebec and Academie de Baseball du Canada programs were merged in 2016 under the Academie de Baseball du Canada (ABC). The purpose of this merger was to improve and simplify the visibility of our players by presenting them under a single umbrella. As a result, the ABC became an "official" annual baseball program.
With two summer teams (16U & 17U), the ABC athletes can now aspire to tighter supervision that can extend over a period of two or more consecutive years.
