The TPA Nationals Select Program is a travel baseball program located out of The Performance Academy in Apex, NC. Our Select Program is for all athletes that play from 11U to 14U, with a primary focus of developing not only great baseball players, but also great young men. Our coaches in the Select Program have an extensive knowledge of the game and have played at either the collegiate or professional level in some capacity. They are extremely committed to providing the opportunity to impart their wisdom and knowledge on the kids in the hopes of helping them get to the next level in their baseball careers. As an organization we are unique in the way that we run our program. We try to run everything with an appreciation for talent and work ethic as it relates to kids earning opportunities. We also have a facility that we operate out of in Apex, NC (The Performance Academy) and this provides some great resources that we are blessed to have. Our teams actually get the opportunity to work directly with our sports performance coaches to help improve speed/agility, strength, and conditioning before and during our seasons. 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. As an organization we treat every kid with the same level of care and attention whether they play on our 11u team or in our showcase program (15u – 18u). Our goal as a program is to create a positive environment that every athlete can flourish in and feel like they are part of a family. We are constantly looking to grow and provide opportunities for athletes that have a true desire to develop in the game of baseball and play at the next level.

Meet the Director of 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.