While the current 2018 season is coming to a close, with both the Softball and Baseball National Championships just around the corner, BSUK's Talent programme is looking ahead to the 2018-19 off-season. Academy Director Jason Holowaty said, "Players and coaches from around Great Britain have benefited from the Academy programmes over the years and we're excited to continue building a world-class programme this winter."

Dates
This season, High Performance Academy tryouts will be held on Saturday 29 September 2018 at Farnham Park for softball and on Sunday 30 September 2018 for baseball.

The Academy season will open with a joint National Practice for both baseball and softball at Harefield Academy on Saturday 13 October 2018.

The following Academy and HPA dates have been confirmed and BaseballSoftballUK encourages all players, coaches and clubs to put these dates in their calendars.

Date Location Session
Sat 29 Sept 2018 Farnham Park Baseball & Softball Complex High Performance Academy Tryouts - Softball
Sun 30 Sept 2018 Farnham Park Baseball & Softball Complex High Performance Academy Tryouts - Baseball
Sat 13 Oct 2018 The Harefield Academy National Academy Opening Day - Baseball & Softball
Sun 21 Oct 2018 Datchet & Eton Leisure Centre (tbc) High Performance Academy - Opening & Testing Day
Sat 3 Nov 2018 Langley Academy
Trafford Sportsdome
Alan Higgs - Coventry Regional Baseball Academy - South
Regional Baseball Academy - North
National Softball Academy
Sat 10 Nov 2018 Langley Academy
Alan Higgs - Coventry Regional Softball Academy - South
National Baseball Academy
Sun 11 Nov Charnwood College Regional Softball Academy - North/Midlands
Sat 17 Nov 2018 Harefield Academy HPA National Sessions - Baseball & Softball
Sat 24 Nov 2018 Alan Higgs - Coventry National Softball Academy
Sat 1 Dec 2018
Langley Academy
Alan Higgs - Coventry

Regional Softball Academy - South
National Baseball Academy
Sun 2 Dec 2018 Trafford Sportsdome
Regional Softball Academy -
North & Midlands

Sat 8 Dec 2018 Langley Academy
Trafford Sportsdome Regional Baseball Academy - South
Regional Baseball Academy - North
Sun 9 Dec 2018 Alan Higgs - Coventry National Softball Academy
Sun 16 Dec 2018 Datchet & Eton Leisure Centre (tbc) High Performance Academy - Testing Day
Sun 13 Jan 2019 Alan Higgs - Coventry HPA National Sessions - Baseball & Softball
Sat 19 Jan 2019 Langley Academy
Trafford Sportsdome
Alan Higgs - Coventry Regional Baseball Academy - South
Regional Baseball Academy - North
National Softball Academy
Sat 2 Feb 2019 Langley Academy
Alan Higgs - Coventry Regional Softball Academy - South
National Baseball Academy
Sun 3 Feb 2019 Charnwood College Regional Softball Academy - North & Midlands
Sun 10 Feb 2018 Datchet & Eton Leisure Centre (tbc) High Performance Academy - Testing Day
Sat 16 Feb 2018 Langley Academy
Trafford Sportsdome
Alan Higgs - Coventry Regional Baseball Academy - South
Regional Baseball Academy - North
National Softball Academy
Sat 23 Feb 2019 Alan Higgs - Coventry National Baseball Academy
Sat 2 Mar 2019 Langley Academy
Trafford Sportsdome
Alan Higgs -Coventry Regional Baseball Academy - South
Regional Baseball Academy - North
National Softball Academy
Sat 9 Mar 2019 Harefield Academy HPA National Sessions - Baseball & Softball
Sun 10 Mar 2019 Harefield Academy HPA National Sessions - Baseball & Softball
Sat 16 Mar 2019 Langley Academy
Alan Higgs - Coventry Regional Softball Academy - South
National Baseball Academy
Sun 17 Mar 2019 Trafford Sportsdome Regional Softball Academy - North & Midlands
Sat 30 Mar 2019 Farnham Park National Academy Closing Day - Baseball & Softball
Sun 7 Apr 2019 Datchet & Eton Leisure Centre (tbc) High Performance Academy - Closing Testing Day

Academy Baseball and Softball
The Academy Baseball and Softball programmes will be slightly different from one another for the 2018-2019 season. This year, the Academy Baseball programme will be equally focused on regional and national sessions, with five regional practices and five national practices in addition to the Opening and Closing Days. Academy Softball programming will be much the same as last year, with four regional practices and six national practices in addition to the Opening and Closing Days.

The Academy programme is open to all boys and girls aged 9 to 25 regardless of ability, who wish to improve and maximise their potential.

Player registration for BaseballSoftballUK Academy programming is now open via the Academy website: CLICK TO REGISTER.

High Performance Academy
BaseballSoftballUK will continue to build upon the success of the High Performance Academy, which is funded by Sport England, and to expand upon its holistic athlete-centred development approach.

This year's programme will include mid-week practices as well as National HPA practices on the weekend, and weekly Facebook Live sessions. Mid-week practices will begin in earnest during the week of 15 October 2018, running through to the first week of May 2019.

The HPA season will officially open on 21 October 2018, when athletes who successfully trialled for the programme will be guided through a series of workshops outlining the culture and expectations of the programme, plus goal-setting, lifestyle management and physical baseline testing to set benchmarks by which the HPA staff can then assess the athletes' development over the training season.

The High Performance Academy is open to boys (baseball) and girls (fastpitch softball) aged 13 to 19. Anyone wishing to be a part of the HPA programme MUST attend tryouts on Saturday 29 September (HPA Softball) or Sunday 30 September (HPA Baseball) at Farnham Park.

CLICK TO REGISTER FOR THE HPA TRYOUTS

More Information
For additional details and information regarding BaseballSoftballUK's Academy and High Performance Academy programmes, please contact Academy Director Jason Holowaty or Assistant Director Johanna Malisani.http://www.baseballsoftballuk.com/news/view/baseballsoftballuk-announces-2018-19-academy-and-high-performance-academy-t