The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball is proud to announce their 4th student-athlete to commit to a college baseball program.

Scott Hornstra, from Rocky Mountain House, AB has committed to play at NJCAA Division 1 Junior College – Colby Community College Trojans in Colby, Kansas. Scott received an athletic scholarship to play at Colby. Congratulations to Scott!

Vauxhall Academy of Baseball is proud to announce the 3rd student-athlete who has committed to a college baseball program.
Curtis Smith from Calgary, Alberta has committed to playing at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Mustangs are a very respectful Division 2 program in Marshall, Minnesota. Curtis received an athletic and academic scholarship.

Alex Tufts; from Nova Scotia, Canada; has committed to attend school and play baseball for Iowa Western Community College next year. Tufts currently attends school at Vauxhall Academy in Alberta, Canada. In 2005 and 2006 he competed for the Novia Scotia Youth Select team in the Canada Cup. Alex also attended the Mizuno Junior Elite Camp in 2005. Tuft’s currently throws in the mid-upper 80’s and has improved greatly since enrolling at Vauxhall Academy and concentrating on his development in baseball. In the Fall season he had a record of 2-0; throwing 30 innings accumulating 35 strikeouts with only 16 walks.

Coach Rardin had this to say, “Alex will come to Iowa Western Community College as a real sleeper. Novia Scotia is one of the smallest provinces in Canada; and it’s hard for players from that area to get good looks from American colleges. He’s a low ¾ guy with a lot of late life on his fastball and the ability to locate his off-speed pitches. He’s pretty good right now; but his best days are certainly ahead of him as he continues to get more repetitions and plays more baseball. I’m excited about the things he will be able to do for us and himself in the future”.

The Iowa Western Community College baseball staff would like to welcome Alex and all of our recruits to the program for next year.

For more information, visit Iowa Western Community College’s official website

VAUXHALL, AB – The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball is proud to announce National Partnerships with Easton Canada, of Kirkland, Quebec and Sports Connection (Source for Sports) of Medicine Hat, Alberta, the New Era Hat Company of Derby, NY, USA, and Rawlings Canada, again through Sports Connection.

Easton Canada – through Sports Connection – will supply the Academy with its official uniforms, baseball gloves, spikes, turfs, equipment and apparel. Over 100 Major League Baseball (MLB) players currently use Easton gloves and bats.

“The Coaching Staff and Board of Directors are extremely excited to partner with Easton and Sports Connection in the 1st year of the Academy,” Les McTavish, head coach of the Academy said. “Easton has proven time and time again why they have one of the best baseball products on the market today. Come September the student-athletes at the Academy will be extremely excited with the professional equipment and gear that they will wear.”

Brian Bauman, the owner of Sports Connection Source For Sports in Medicine Hat, said he is thrilled to enter into partnership with the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball. “We are excited to play a part in developing young baseball talent in Southern Alberta and ultimately Western Canada,” he said.

“We at Easton Sports,” said Jon Konigsberg, Canadian/European Sales Manager with Easton Canada, “are very excited about being named the Official Equipment Supplier to the Vauxhall Baseball Academy. Fighting dwindling participation rates in our sport in Canada has been a challenge over the years and this academy is a terrific initiative that will encourage kids to continue to play the game they love while furthering their academic interests. We are proud to have the Easton name associated with this program and will strive to help make it a great success for many years to come.”

New Era will be supplying the official headwear for the Academy. Academy players will be wearing the 5950 model, which is the same hat worn by all Major League Baseball teams. New Era also supplies the hats for Team Canada, many College Teams and the World Baseball Classic. The Academy will have 2 hats – 1 maroon hat with a black/gold logo and 1 black hat with a maroon/gold logo.

“The Academy is extremely gratified to be working with New Era,” McTavish said. “New Era is the world leader in headwear and we all believe that our players, coaches, and support staff will be extremely proud to wear MLB quality hats in 2006/2007.”

Ken Haqq, New Era Canada Marketing Manager, said that, with New Era Cap being so deeply rooted in the sport of Baseball, “we are excited and proud to have the opportunity to be the official headwear of the Vauxhall Academy and look forward to a lasting relationship.”

Rawlings will be the Official Baseball and Helmets of the Academy. Rawlings is a world leader in baseballs and helmets and is the official baseball of Major League Baseball. The Academy will use the Rawlings ROML model baseball for all games.

McTavish said that “Rawlings baseballs and helmets are the best quality that the Academy could possibly use. Rawlings baseballs are the official baseballs of the MLB and will prove again why they are a world leader in this sport.”

For more information:

Les McTavish
Head Coach
[email protected]
(403) 654-2145 – school
403) 382-8869 – Coach McTavish

VAUXHALL, Alberta – The Vauxhall Academy of baseball is pleased to introduce its inaugural Team Roster.

The Academy’s first roster consists of athletes who have come to live in Vauxhall both from nearby rural towns such as Hays, Alberta, and from as far away as Sussex Corner, New Brunswick. This year’s roster consists of one athlete from Saskatchewan, one from Manitoba, one from Nova Scotia, one from New Brunswick, and sixteen from Alberta. Five of the players come right from Southern Alberta, whereas five are from Calgary and area and six are from north of Calgary.

The creation of Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Jets quickly appealed to many student-athletes from across the country. The Academy filled up quickly and now consists of twenty athletes with the potential for a couple additions (the full roster is below). The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball’s unique atmosphere has enticed these young athletes, who range in age and talent, to come from all over Canada.

All twenty players will be attending Vauxhall High School and will don the Jets jersey in this, our inaugural year. This year’s roster will have thirteen players in their senior year who will be graduating in the spring of 2007. Six of the athletes will be attending grade 11 and one athlete will be joining grade 10.

With such a diverse component of age and place of origin, the team also has an assortment of talent. Four out of the twenty athletes are left-handed hitters and the remaining sixteen players are right-handed hitters. Three out of the fourteen athletes who may pitch are left-handed and eleven are right-handed.

The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball is pleased to announce that five of their senior players were 2005 Team Canada Mizuno Camp invitees, to the Rogers Centre in Toronto, for the top 16 year olds in the country. The athletes who were part of this great experience last fall are Zane Anderson, Kiel Armstrong, Sean Carrick, Cody Phipps and Alex Tufts.

It is evident that the inaugural Vauxhall Academy of Baseball roster consists of young men of great athletic ability, desire and commitment. As Head Coach Les McTavish explains, “Jim (Kotkas, coach) and I have been overwhelmed with the interest in our 1st year of the Academy. We have both worked very hard to ensure that the student-athletes that have been selected are quality young men, strong academic students, and talented athletically. We are both very excited to begin work on August 28th, 2006 with these young men. All of them have a future in the game and we hope that the Academy assists in their developmental process.”

For more information on individual players, please see here for the full roster.

Les McTavish
Head Coach
[email protected]
(403) 654-2145 – school
403) 382-8869 – Coach McTavish

VAUXHALL, Alberta – The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball is proud to announce The Reno Lizzi Bursary/Scholarship Fund,which was formed to honor Reno’s memory.

Reno was a well respected businessman and devoted baseball fan. Not only did he own and operate his own men’s clothing business, he was instrumental in bringing a Pioneer League Professional Baseball Team to Lethbridge.

Although he was known for his devotion to the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, he was also an enthusiastic Toronto Blue Jays fan. While his accomplishments in Lethbridge were legendary, for Reno, his family and friends were always a source of much pride and happiness.

Reno was a devoted sports fan and a lifelong Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers supporter. While his accomplishments in Lethbridge are legendary, for Reno, his family was always a source of much pride and happiness.

All monies raised will form Bursaries and Scholarships for elite high school athletes who aspire to combine their academic studies and their passion for baseball at the newly formed Vauxhall Academy of Baseball. This program will officially begin in September 2006. Bursaries will assist student athletes to pursue their scholastic and athletic goals while scholarships will reward those aspirants for their excellence in those disciplines. Scholarship recipients will be also be honored with a Commemorative Ring. Charitable tax receipts will be issued for donations.

The Vauxhall Academy of Baseball would like to invite you attend the press conference/scholarship launch in memory of Reno Lizzi and in support of our aspiring student-athletes.

When: 11:00 a.m. MST, June 23, 2006

Where: Park Place Mall, Lethbridge, Alberta

There will be an announcement of a special scholarship donation at the press conference!

Vauxhall Academy of Baseball coaches, staff, officials, and other special guests will be available for comments and questions at the completion of the press conference.

For more information:

Les McTavish
Head Coach and Manager

(403) 654-2145 – Vauxhall High School
(403) 382-8869 – Coach McTavish