Friesen Looking Forward to Playing Baseball in Europe
Haydon Friesen helped the Altona Bisons win the MJBL championship in 2015
Haydon Friesen is getting the opportunity to play the game he loves in Europe.
Friesen will travel to four different countries while playing baseball for a team from France.
The Collegiate Baseball League Europe has six teams for players from around the world aged 18 to 23.
“I was contacted a couple months ago by Rob Ushy of Winnipeg who has coached in this league the last couple summers,” said Friesen who helped his hometown Altona Bisons capture their first Manitoba Junior Baseball League title last season. “He asked me to join his team, the La Rochelle Admirals and it didn’t take long for him to explain the opportunity to me before I said I’d love to join.”
Friesen and the Admirals will begin their season in London, England and continue in La Rochelle, France and Barcelona, Spain.
The month will conclude with a playoff tournament in Oousterhout, Netherlands.
The 22-year-old catcher, who plays with the University of Waterloo Warriors, said he was a little shocked but mostly excited about the chance to play in Europe.
“It is something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do, travel Europe, play baseball and represent my school, town and country in a league like this.”
Friesen has been preparing for this experience by training with the Bisons and playing with the Winnipeg Senior Baseball League’s Kildonan Mudcats since spring.
He will leave for the short season on July 9th and be back home at the end of the month.
“I expect it to be similar to the junior ball I’ve played in the past and the senior ball I’ve been playing now,” said Friesen who plans to return to the University of Waterloo in the fall to complete his degree in Recreation and Sport Business and play one more season with the Warriors. “I’m not sure of the exact caliber of the league but it’s supposed to be all college based players and there are a lot of college players coming out of the U.S. so I expect it to be good ball.”
Friesen adds just being in Europe for the first time will be a highlight and he’s looking forward to meeting lots of people from around the world through the experience.
