About the Junior Select Program:
The TPA Nationals Junior Select Program is a travel baseball program located out of The Performance Academy in Apex, NC. The TPA Nationals expanded their program into the Junior Select age group in the Fall of 2021. The Junior Select Program is for all athletes that play from 8U to 10U, with a primary focus of developing not only great baseball players, but great young men. Our coaches have an extensive knowledge of the game and are committed to impart their wisdom and knowledge on the athletes in our program, and guide parent coaches through the travel ball spring and fall seasons. They will also work hard to ensure the players are ready to seamlessly transition from parent coaches to our TPA Nationals coaches at the 11U age group. Our Nationals teams work directly with our sports performance coaches to help improve speed/agility, strength, and conditioning before and during our seasons in addition to our practices. Our athletes also have access to our facility and the coaches here when they are available to continue to receive extra coaching and work on their game. Our goal as a program is to create a positive environment so that every athlete can flourish and feel like they are part of a family.
Jr Select Spring
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Meet the Director of Jr Select & Select Baseball: Ryan Girard
Ryan was born in Montreal, Quebec and currently lives in Holly Springs, NC. Ryan graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a BA in Sport Business. While attending SLU, he was part of the National COSMA(Commission on Sport Management Accreditation) student honor society- Chi Sigma Mu, Summa Cum Laude, and graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.8. He was lucky enough to be chosen by the University to attend the MLB Winter Meetings as an intern in 2018, which took place in Las Vegas Nevada.
Ryan grew up in Tampa, FL and attended Wiregrass ranch HS. He earned a scholarship to pitch at Lake Sumter State College in Leesburg, FL. After attending LSSC for 3 years and playing in the Florida League for the Deland Suns, he transferred to Saint Leo University to finish out his collegiate career. Ryan battled through injuries for a majority of his college years that kept him off the mound (TJ freshman year, Labrum/rotator cuff surgery Junior year).
After College baseball, He went back to his HS and served as the pitching coach for a year while also working for the Ted Williams Foundation at Tropicana Field. Ryan moved to NC in 2019 to begin his Internship with TPA and has been here since. He currently is the Director of Tournament Operations for Revolution Sporting Events, and coaches one of the Showcase baseball teams.
