(Colton McKee, photography)
Truman Bartman | themavericks.ca
When he gets out of school, Ethan Chenard doesn’t waste time getting to the ballpark once he finishes a day at Monsignor McCoy High School. At just 16 years old, Chenard, who plays catcher, is the youngest player on the Medicine Hat Mavericks affiliate roster and part of the 18U Mavericks varsity team.
The path to playing for the 18U Mavericks started not far from Medicine Hat’s Athletic Park. A young Chenard was introduced to the game, tagging along with his parents’ slow-pitch games in and around the gas city as a toddler.
“My parents always played slow pitch when I was a kid, so I grew up at lots of different baseball diamonds in the city. I remember always falling asleep on my dad’s softball bag, and then he would just pull me around. That’s basically how it started. Then I started playing t-ball from there.”
Before Chenard knew it, he was taking centre stage in those same parks he followed his parents to as a kid. It wasn’t long before Medicine Hat’s little league parks became Chenard’s playground, and he began to realize that baseball was his calling.
“I would say I noticed it coming together when I actually started hitting home runs at the little diamonds. I would hit a home run, and then other coaches would intentionally walk me, or I would have the Lethbridge track coach tell me that I’m good. It all came together when I was about 12.”
Little league dominance and practicing with the Mavericks WCBL club are two very different beasts, Chenard is well aware. However, the young catcher’s confidence hasn’t changed. It doesn’t hurt that Chenard is eager to learn from the Mavs veterans, and he says they have taken well to his ambitions.
“They’re all super supportive, the catchers specifically, because I am also a catcher. Whenever we’re doing drills, they always give me little bits of tips here and there to work on. I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had anybody come up to me saying I don’t belong here. They’ve all been super welcoming.”
The support that Chenard has received from his teammates will be pivotal in helping him turn into a better baseball player. However, it’s the support from his family that means the most to the young backstopper.
“Personally, I was just in disbelief when I was told I was going to be on the team. I was like, there’s no way that I’m going to be on the team that I grew up watching. When my dad found out, he just kept saying how this opportunity almost brought a tear to his eye. Feeling like I’m a proud son of my dad’s just made me feel so good about myself.”
There’s still a long way to go for the 18U Mavericks catcher before he becomes a full-time WCBL player, but accomplishing a feat of this magnitude prior to even graduating from high school is impressive in its own right.
On top of his local baseball success, Chenard recently received an opportunity to join Etobicoke Baseball Academy’s Road to Okotoks roster. The Medicine Hat product will have a chance to compete against some of Canada’s top prospects at Seaman Stadium come July.
Student by day, rising baseball star by night. Ethan Chenard is learning the ropes of what life is like as a collegiate athlete as a 10th grader. His age may suggest one thing, but Chenard is ready to take the next step in his baseball career, while also turning his childhood dreams into a reality.