It was a great fall at Lloyd Nolan Yard for the PBA this year. After the pandemic wreaked havoc on the programs plans for the last two years, the coaching staff is ecstatic heading into a hopefully more “normal” year.

This year’s Fall World Series was exciting as always, providing good competition and giving the coaching staff a chance to step back and evaluate this year’s group. This year’s Fall World Series champions was Team White captained by Nick Gravel (Halifax, NS), Kade Kahlert (Red Deer, AB) and Owen Nychyk (Winnipeg, MB).

There have been a lot of hours spent in the weight room at Lloyd Nolan Yard since the end of the Fall World Series. Every year, the program enters a strength and conditioning program in November and December to test the physical and mental capabilities of our athletes. The strength and conditioning program is notoriously difficult (just ask any alumni) and the coaching staff is very proud of how the players this year have handled it.

Here is a quick breakdown of how the strength and conditioning program works, PBA operates 4 days a week Tuesday through Friday. The first four weeks of the program is dedicated to circuits, with players completing two circuits per week and completing lifts on the days they are not completing circuits.

30-minute lifts start towards the end of November and these workouts test the mental capabilities of our athletes. They have been a staple at PBA for many years. During this timeframe, players only lift twice a week and spot another player on the days where they do not lift.

During 30-minute lifts, the coaching staff sit down with players one on one and tell each player their strengths, weaknesses, what they need to improve on and which team they will be playing for in the springtime.

On top of the strength and conditioning, players are expected to volunteer their time in order to operate PBA Youth Camps. These camps are critical for youth baseball in the city of Lethbridge. Many players who are currently playing for PBA today attended the camps when they were younger.

Stay tuned into the PBA website and social media as we will announce the Varsity and Junior Varsity rosters in January! Happy holidays and we will see you in 2022!