Elite Baseball

The Leaside Elite baseball program provides top-tier instruction, development and exposure to assist athletes in their pursuit of college or university baseball.

EliteLogo

The Leaside Leafs Elite program has successful teams at the 15U through to 18U age levels, including the 2018 18U City Champions and 2019 16U and 18U Fall Ball Tournament Champions.   The program is designed to support top-tier athletes that may have college, university, multi-sport and/or high academic aspirations in a successful and welcoming team environment.

LEASIDE LEAFS 2024 ELITE TEAMS

18U Elite | 2006/2007 birth year

  • Head Coach: Zach Stevenson | z.stevenson13@hotmail.com | (647) 218-9134

16U Elite | 2008 birth year

  • Head Coach: Andrew Rowlands | andyrowlands@hotmail.com | (647) 554-7240

15U Elite | 2009 birth year

  • Head Coach: David Macpherson
  • Assistant Coach: Lee Mosbaugh | leemosbaugh@live.ca | (647) 381-1632

 

 

LEASIDE LEAFS 2024 JR & SR TEAMS

Junior Baseball (22U)
  • Tom Hayward (416-592-0681)
  • Eric Stickney (647-338-3596)
Senior Baseball (22 and over)
  • Matt Nailer: (416-995-0350)
Elite Pitching

Leaside Leafs 17U Elite team crowned 2021 18U OBA August Madness Champs!

By leasidebaseball | September 3, 2021 |

Defeating Mississauga North 5-3 at Howard Talbot Park, Leaside’s 17U Team took the 2021 18U OBA Championship Crown during August Madness. Congrats!

Leaside is Hosting the 15U OBAs!

By leasidebaseball | August 28, 2019 |

Leaside Baseball is hosting the 2019 Baseball Ontario 15U “AAA” Playoff Tournament from Friday August 30 to Monday September 2.  Games are played at Howard Talbot Park and Bond Park.  Follow all of the game results here!

Come and cheer our boys of summer, the U18 Leaside Leafs

By leasidebaseball | July 1, 2018

From Leaside Life July 1, 2018. I LOVE live sporting events. Whether it’s watching my kids, amateurs, or professionals playing a myriad of sports, the thrill of the game rarely fails to entertain. But live sports can sometimes be costly. Want to bring the family to a Blue Jays game? By the time you factor…

ABOUT LEASIDE LEAFS ELITE BASEBALL

Q: What is Elite baseball?

A: Elite baseball is the top level of baseball competition and commitment facilitated by Baseball Ontario between the ages of 15U and 18U. The Elite Baseball League of Ontario (EBLO) runs a 20+ game regular season for teams from across the GTA and beyond (Sudbury, Peterborough, Ottawa, Kitchener, etc). It features an annual showcase tournament in May, and teams travel to the U.S. for 2+ showcase tournaments each year. For more information, see the EBLO's website, Elite info page, and powerpoint on Elite Baseball in Ontario and moving to collegiate baseball.

 

Q: What is the difference between Rep and Elite baseball?

A: Elite baseball features more professional training to assist players in the pursuit of baseball in higher education and post-midget levels. For example, sport nutrition for youth athletes is highly emphasized through guest lectures and resources. Academic workshops are led by StudySpot to enhance academic success of these soon-to-be student-athletes. Diligently training through a collegiate-based strength training program is expected from all elite players. In sum, the Elite program is designed to support serious players in their preparation for collegiate baseball.

 

Q: What is the difference between Leaside’s Elite program and the CPBL or PBLO?

A: The most prominent difference is cost; EBLO player fees generally do not exceed $4000. In addition, CPBL/PBLO teams travel the U.S. more than most EBLO teams, who require a minimum of two U.S. tournaments per year.

 

Q: What is the official season for Elite baseball?

A: Elite tryouts happen in mid-August. Teams have fall ball schedules consisting of a handful of games against EBLO and university opponents, along with weekly practices to prepare for at least one tournament. Summer schedules consist of 18-24 regular season games against EBLO opponents, the EBLO Showcase tournament (May), 2 U.S. Showcase tournaments, Elims or OBAs, TBAs, and 1 to 2 more Ontario tournaments. Teams have a weekly slot at Talbot Park in Leaside and periodic extra slots on weekends.

 

 Q: Where will we play in the summer?

A: Howard Talbot Park (West diamond) is the home of the Leaside Leafs Elite program. Away games take place across the GTA and beyond. For a list of teams in divisions of the current year, see the EBLO divisions on their website.

 

Q: What is the commitment required for Elite baseball in the winter?

A: The Elite off-season program will be training at Baseball Development Group (BDG), GRIT Athletics Toronto, NRS and various Turf Dome locations.

Players are encouraged to attend as many sessions as possible but are expected to attend at least one session per week. Since a main emphasis of our program is academic success, it is expected that players prioritize their school first while balancing family time and non-baseball athletic commitments. We encourage participation in other sports as it provides cross-training benefits and mitigates mental and physical burn-out. However, players need to collaborate with the Elite coaches on their workout plans to ensure their optimal baseball development is maintained.

 

Q: Is there any break from baseball during the summer? What if we want to go on vacation, to the cottage or away to camp?

A: Elite teams have very dense summer schedules. However, team managers will work to get some weekends off, especially holiday weekends. Families should communicate with team managers about what dates of the summer are best for any larger amount of absences. It is expected that families do not book travel that conflicts with July, as most big tournaments are in July with playoff tournaments in early August.

 

Q: What are team fees?

A: Elite team fees range from $3,000 to $5,000.

These fees do not include the cost of the player uniforms and cost of travel.

Players can directly off-set their personal team fee by acquiring sponsorships –brochure available.

A limited number of bursaries are available for players whose financial situation would prohibit them from participating in the program. See https://www.leasidebaseball.com/play-ball-financial-assistance-scholarship/.

 

Q: How many players are on a team?

A: Rosters generally range from 14 to 18 players depending on many factors.

 

Q: What if I played for an Elite, Rep or Select team in a different association last year?

A: The EBLO has an open release policy, making geography a non-factor in eligibility.

 

Q: Is there a March Break trip offered?

A: Players will be able to join a showcase trip in Florida with the Leaside program or as a part of a joint group. Information will be distributed to rostered players in the fall.

 

Q: Are there any job opportunities that Elite players are eligible for?

A: Leaside Elite players are usually great candidates to serve as guest instructors or assistant coaches on younger Leaside Rep and Select teams, earning money in the local area performing a job that they have developed sound pre-requisite skills for. Many players currently work our Leaside Baseball Camp (daytimes July - August), Winter Clinic programming, House Leagues and other periodic development clinics. Other opportunities include: umpiring, field crew, website/social media assistants, and administrative assistants.

 

Q: Are there any sources of financial assistance?

A: A limited number of bursaries are available for players whose financial situation would prohibit them from participating in the program.  See https://www.leasidebaseball.com/play-ball-financial-assistance-scholarship/.

In addition, the Elite program currently awards an annual scholarship to one graduating player on behalf of the Leaside Leafs Senior Team.

 

Q: Is there baseball beyond the Elite program in Leaside?

A: The LBA facilitates a strong Junior team (21U) out of Talbot Park. Many graduates of our Elite program continue playing competitive baseball with the Junior program.