NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
The Prairie Rose School Division announced the South Alberta Baseball Academy as part of their program lineup on Monday. PRPS chief deputy superintendent Mark Heinricks, program leader Marc MacMillan and PRPS director of enhanced programming Darren MacMillan pose at the South Alberta Collegiate building.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Prairie Rose Public Schools deepened its growing sports program lineup Monday.
The regional school division announced the launching of the South Alberta Baseball Academy to start in the fall of 2025 with Eagle Butte High School.
PRPS has seen success with the Badlands Badgers Baseball Academy in Oyen and envisioned an opportunity for growth in Medicine Hat, according to director of enhanced programming, Darren MacMillan.
MacMillan, who played a large role in bringing the South Alberta Hockey Academy to southeast Alberta, says the creation of the baseball academy follows a path the Canadian Sport School Hockey League did in 2009.
“When they would have started it was Banff, Edge, Okanagan, Pursuit of Excellence and what is now Calgary International Hockey Academy; those five schools got together and said, ‘Let’s form a league,'” MacMillan said. “If you look around in our area, now there’s Vauxhall, Okotoks and in Calgary, there’s a couple programs there. In my mind, there’s enough to go beyond scheduling games, which is good, let’s actually look into starting something bigger.”
The program, running during the school calendar, will be held out of multiple locations in Medicine Hat, seasonally dependent. During fall and spring baseball weather, the SABA program will operate at Athletic Park, and during the offseason, student athletes will train and learn at the South Alberta Collegiate building by the airport, unveiled this past spring.
“This will be a fully embedded, education-based baseball program, the kids will go to school together at Eagle Butte, they’ll train at Athletic Park in the fall and spring, and in the winter, they’ll be here (at SAC),” MacMillan said.
Spearheading the program will be coach Marc MacMillan, who brings an extensive resume in baseball, having played three seasons and coached four more at Ole Miss, plus four seasons as head coach at Charleston Southern University.
He’s born and raised in the Southern U.S. but has family in southern Alberta, including his cousin Darren.
Marc says originally he was a consultant on the idea for the program for Prairie Rose, but after learning about its focus and priority for developing athletes, became interested in a larger role. He was then offered the coaching role and hasn’t looked back.
“I really wanted to get back to two things, I want to get back to my roots. Why did I get into coaching? It’s because I love the game’s development, yeah,” Marc said. “The opportunity to have my kids come back to a region that ignited my dad’s passion for hockey, and think I have a chance to maybe come here and bring my passion.
“That’s all we really want to be, is just an extension of the equation for development of baseball in Medicine Hat.”
Marc’s father John MacMillan grew up in Milk River and become a professional hockey player, winning two Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962 and 1963.
Unlike his father, Marc can’t skate – and he isn’t rushing to get on the ice. What he can do though is teach baseball, and help students turn those lessons of the game into lessons for everyday life.
“I’m anxious to get back to the sound of the bat, the sound of the glove; I’m not interested in playing anymore, but in seeing young men and women who love the game come out here and get the best out of themselves,” Marc said. “I don’t want to guarantee anything else. If you come out and you work hard every day, at the end of the day, you are going to get the most out of yourself.
“That’s what I’m trying to do – how do I get you to wake up in the morning and have your feet touch the ground running because you’re so excited to attack the day. Ultimately, that is what I want them to do when it comes to this, be excited to find out, ‘How do I be at my best today?’ Because if I do that, I’m going to be better tomorrow.”
Darren MacMillan says the program will get underway in the fall of 2025 with an information night for interested athletes and parents scheduled for Feb. 1. More information can found on the PRPS website.
Both Darren and Marc stressed how the new program is meant to supplement the pillars of baseball already set in Medicine Hat, like American Legion and the Mavs.
“I’m very much a learner, I accept any help, any suggestions that want to come in, and hopefully we can just be an extension of offering an opportunity for those student athletes that are Grade 10-12,” Marc said.
Earlier this year, PRPS announced partnership with the Medicine Hat Mavericks to develop baseball fundamentals in Grade 4-9 students. The program, led by head coach and program director Greg Morrison, operates at four schools with 52 students.
