I looked over your program and highly recommend College Baseball Connect as another great service for young players looking to pursue their baseball careers.

Dear Mr. Charrette,

I have signed with Immaculata University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a Division 3 school and thanks to College Baseball Connect I am going into my freshman year as the starting right fielder.

Sincerely,
Stephen Kimmaliardjuk

By Adam Morissette

Don Charrete’s greatest satisfaction comes from helping young ballplayers achieve their goal of playing college baseball in the United States. From humble beginnings of trying to find his son Marc Charette a place to play back in 2004, he has built College Baseball Connect (CBC) and helped place over one 100 players at schools south of the border as well as some in Canada.

“I had no idea about what went into the recruiting process or getting kids proper exposure back then.” said Charrette (Ottawa, Ont.), who spends over 30 hours per week working on CBC during the busy season (late summer/early fall)

After successfully placing his son at a school -- Shorter College in Rome, Ga. -- as well as helping some other Ottawa area players get scholarships down south, Charrette began to think that he could help many other kids live their dreams.

Combine Charrette’s new found passion along with the aid of his brother Bill`s web application expertise and College Baseball Connect was born.

“Everybody embraced it off the start, including Baseball Canada,” said Charrette.

What he is referring to is Baseball Canada technical director Jim Baba who suggested that Charrette take his ‘show on the road’ and expand his business across Canada. Through some contacts that Baba had in Western Canada, College Baseball Connect began to flourish.

The program essentially works where evaluation camps are set-up for young ballplayers to participate in a pro-style workout. This includes running a 60-yard dash, outfielders catching and throwing to the bases, infielders taking ground balls and displaying their arm actions, pitchers showing their stuff on the mound, catchers displaying their catch-and-throw skills and, of course, all hitters having a session of batting practice.

CBC has professional evaluators -- Joe Blandford (Baltimore, Md.), cover the Maryland/Virginia/Washington, D.C. area; Mark Charrette (Ottawa, Ont.) Eastern Ontario-Western Quebec; Desi Doyle (Mount Stewart, PEI), Prince Edward Island; J.P. Roy (Quebec City, Que.); Philip Tomlinson (Trois Rivieres, Que.); Rob Butler (Toronto, Ont.), Rich Butler (Toronto, Ont.), Chris Kemlo (Oshawa, Ont.); Mike Irving (Toronto, Ont.) Toronto/Mississauga; Jim Lawson (Lethbridge, Alta.) Alberta; Les McTavish (Vauxhall, Alta.) Southern Alberta; Tim Nelson (Ottawa, Ont.) Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec; Mark Randall (Edmonton, Alta.) Alberta; Tim Rickert (Hamilton, Tx) Central Texas -- at all sessions who rate the players on their skills and essentially provide a comprehensive scouting report on the players along with a series of recommendations. Cost is in the range of $500-700 depending on the location. Contact Charette (donc@rogers.com).

“Our evaluators have solid baseball backgrounds and have the knowledge and experience to give an accurate assessment of the players.” said Charrette, an evaluator himself.

Each player is also videotaped at the workout to provide the prospective school footage of what the player is all about. The report which rates how well a player would perform at each of the different college levels, along with the video builds a profile that can then be sent out to hundreds of college coaches and recruiters instantly.

“With the click of a button, the players profile will be the inbox of college coaches that provide a fit to the player’s skill level. ``

Meaning that CBC matches the player’s skill to the appropriate level of college baseball to serve the best interests of both the school and the player.

“So far we have a 100% success rate, in that every player that has attended one of our workouts has had some sort of interest/offer from a college baseball program, not all have gone on to play at the next level, but everyone has had the opportunity.”

One such success story that Charrette is particularly proud of involves Chris Peckover (Thornloe, Ont.) from the northern part of the province.

“We didn’t even know if he was coming,” said Charrette.

Well, Peckover made the over six-hour trek to Ottawa and arrived only to find that the session might be cancelled because of rain.

“He was two years out of high school playing men’s ball in Northern Ontario,” said Charrette “I could see that he was nervous so I told him to relax and he began pounding the ball.”

After Peckover’s profile made it into the hands of college coaches he quickly signed to play at Sussex County Community College in New Jersey (NJCAA Division II) in early 2008.

“The college baseball experience has been amazing so far and I owe it all to Don and his program,” said Peckover who met Charrette at a tryout camp where the prospect of participating in a CBC evaluation was presented.

“I grew up in the New Liskeard area, with not much in the way of baseball but I always loved the sport from the first time I picked up a ball,`` added Peckover who recently transferred to Graceland University in Iowa and will now compete at the NAIA level.

It is stories like these that keep Charrette going and further enhance the great passion that he has from the game. Charrette spent many years working for the now de-funct triple-A Ottawa Lynx franchise and briefly held the General Manager`s job for the short lived Ottawa Rapidz franchise. College Baseball Connect remains a part time gig for Charrette.

"You do it because you love the game and enjoy seeing the kids take the sport to the highest level possible, not for the money.``

CBC recently placed its 100th player and has added several more since reaching the century mark. The busiest time of year is just around the corner as the recruiting process kicks into high gear in the early fall. This is where Charrette will be busy e-mailing and calling college coaches once all the the player profiles are ready for distribution.

Throughout the years Charrette has built numerous relationships with coaches in the US and Canada because of CBC as well as from his son`s experience at Shorter College. The relationships are so solid that coaches are excited when they get profiles from CBC and the coaches often contact Charrette in advance of him sending out profiles to see if players are available to suit their school`s needs.

``I know a lot more now than I did back then about the entire process.`` added Charrette who is organizing an evaluation camp in Ottawa (where CBC was founded) next month.

So, if you`re a young ball player and want to take your game to the next level, don`t get discouraged because you are Canadian. All you need to do is look to Chris Peckover for advice, who saw an opportunity with Don Charrette and College Baseball Connect and took full advantage of it.

``If there are any Canadian players wondering if they have a shot to get into a solid college baseball program in the US then I strongly recommend you give Don a call.``

The CBC success stories include:

2009: 2B Jordan Williams (Lasalle, Que.) Prarie Baseball Acadamy; Landon Bymoen (Spruce Grove, Alta.) Dana College; Adam Beller (Sherwood Park , Alta.) Butte College; Theirry Menard-Crites (Ottawa, Ont.) Marshalltown Community College; C Sean Payton-Stewart (Ottawa, Ont.) Sussex County Community College; 3B Mike Washburn (Fredericton, NB) Hill Community College; Simon Mitchell (Verdun, Que.) New Mexico Junior College; 2B Daniel Worb (Winnipeg, Man.) Southwestern Community College; SS Tyler Hayes (Calgary, Alta.) Colby Community College; Jamin Heller (Lethbridge, Alta.) Minot University; 3B Cameron Leflar (Edmonton, Alta.) Tabor College; Samuel Siddall (Edmonton, Alta.) Butte College; Austin Cooper (Vauxhall, Alta.) Prarie Baseball Acadamy; 3B Dominique Samyn (Montreal, Que.) Galveston College; Alexandre Villeneuve (St-Jean-Chrysostome, Que.) Cochise College; OF Patrick Chabot (Quebec City, Que.) Morton College; OF Tristan Sicotte Bélanger (St-Constan, Que.) Colby Community College; OF Spencer Imeson (Sherwood Park, Alta.) Butte College; C Josh Stephenson (Strathmore, Alta.) Prairie Baseball Academy; Jordan Wong (Calgary, Alta.) Hill College; Tyler Vavra (Calgary, Alta.) College of Southern Idaho, C Jean-Guy Bilodeau (Winnipeg, Man.) College of Southern Idaho; OF Jordan Gilmour (Gatineau, Que.) Minot University; Steven Inch (Edmonton, Alta.) Midland College; Brandon Petite (Glace Bay, NS) Gulf Coast College; Cole Stober (Hays, Alta.) Minot University, OF Adam Nelubowich (Stony Plain, Alta.) Midland College.

2008: SS Cody Mombourquette (Ottawa, Ont.) Lake Sumter Community College; C Travis Murdock (Ottawa, Ont.) College of Southern Maryland; C Charles Trottier (Quebec City, Que.) Barton County Community College; C Brendan Dawidowski (Edmonton, Alta.) Colby Community College; Michael Anderson (Edmonton, Alta.) Wayne State College; Jared Ziegler (Leduc, Alta.) Colby Community College; C Aaron Lystang (Sherwood Park, Alta.) Saddleback College; Tom Grimm (Edmonton, Alta.) Saddleback College; RHP Greg Daviault (Ottawa, Ont.) Seton Hill University; Taylor Burns (St. Albert, Alta.) Saddleback Community College; Corey Butler (Ajax, Ont.) Iowa Wesleyan; 2B Tyson Ford Chinook, Alta.) Prairie Baseball Academy; Kyle Muzechka (Vegreville, Alta.) Prairie Baseball Academy; OF Mark Clauson (Lethbridge, Alta.) Colby Community College; Jeremy Lockwood-Menard (Chelsea, Que.); Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; OF Dustin Thompson (Medicine Hat, Alta.) Spalding University; C Taylor Frederick (Ottawa, Ont.) Panola College; Jarvis Greiner (Edmonton, Alta.) Biola University; OF Chris Peckover (Thornloe, Ont.) Sussex County Community College.

2007: 2B Chad Northcott (Vauxhall, Alta.) Indian Hills Community College; OF Lionel Morrill (Vauxhall, Alta.) Southern Idaho College; SS Tanner Craswell (Charlottetown, PEI) Southern Idaho College; OF Drew Ziegler (Leduc, Alta.) Colby Community College; Myles Shaw (Barrhead, Alta.) Colby Community College; OF Boston Langley (Edmonton, Alta.) Colby Community College; 3B Karl Kofmel (Orleans, Ont.) Alfred State College; Roger Lukasik (St.Albert, Alta.) Green River College; 2B James Drolet (Ottawa, Ont.) Mercyhurst Northeast College; Tyler Durward (Orleans, Ont.) Mercyhurst Northeast College; Scott Bell (Ottawa, Ont.) Pratt Community College; C Eitan Maoz (Nepean, Ont.) Marshalltown Community College; 1B Taylor Kjargaard (Saskatoon, Sask) University of British Columbia; OF J.P. Willner (Regina, Sask.) Monterey Peninsula College; 1B Joshua Hoetmer (Smoky Lake, Alta.) Prarie Baseball Academy; SS Eric Bryce (Regina, Sask.) Monterey Peninsula College; 1B Mike Brown (Vauxhall, Alta.) Prarie Baseball Academy; Josh Marshall (Saskatoon, Sask.) Canisius College; 1B Jason Luce (Calgary, Alta.) University of British Columbia; OF Zane Anderson (Strathmore, Alta.) Gannon University; Sean Carrick (Imperial, Sask.) University of British Columbia; C Kiel Armstrong (Winnipeg, Man.) Prairie Baseball Academy; OF Cody Phipps (Round Hill, Alta.) University of British Columbia; Curtis Smith (Calgary, Alta.) Southwest Minnesota State; SS Scott Hornstra (Rocky Mountain House, Alta.) Colby Community College, Alex Tufts (Kentville, NS), Iowa Western Community College, Drew Boyer (Millet, Alta.) Coppin State University.

2006: OF Wade Wilson (Ottawa, Ont.) Jefferson Community College; SS Kevin Brunet (Ottawa, Ont.) Garrett College; C Nick Harper (Orleans, Ont.) University of British Columbia; Matt Dubord (Kanata, Ont.) Labette Community College; Alex Merkley (Kanata, Ont.) Columbia State Community College; LHP Mike Lynch (Brockville, Ont.) Marshalltown Community College.

2005: OF Antonio Carbonetti (Ottawa, Ont.) Schenectady College, J.D. Madill (Pembroke, Ont.) Reinhardt College; 3B Denten Neill (Wakefield, Que.) New York Tech; Joel Richard (Ottawa, Ont.) Marshalltown Community College;

2004: Bryan McGee (Ottawa, Ont.) Garrett College; OF Matt Worthmann (Kanata, Ont.) Mercyhurst College North East, Rajiv Gosine (Ottawa, Ont.) Shorter College, Dave McKay (Ottawa, Ont.) Miles City Community College and Mark Charrette (Ottawa, Ont.) Shorter College.

To Canadian schools: SS James Martensen (Ottawa, Ont.) Thompson Rivers University; OF Brandon McCaffrey (Edmonton, Alta.) Kwantlen University; Matthew Davis (Red Deer, Alta.) Vancouver Island University; OF Ned Winter (Edmonton, Alta.) University of Calgary; Tyler Dunsmore (Spruce Grove, Alta.) University of Calgary; Matthew Rude (Edmonton, Alta.) Malaspina College; 2B Jon Verhesen (Edmonton, Alta.) Douglas College; C Braden Polreis (Saskatoon, Sask.) Kwantlen University; 2B Steve Famulak (Regina, Sask.) University of Regina; SS Kyle Radke (Stony Plain, Alta.) Malaspina University College; Greg Shillington (London, Ont.) Thompson River University and Kyle Dwyer (Ottawa, Ont.) Ottawa University.

Americans who have been placed: Patrick Hailey (Glenwood Springs, Col) Hastings College; Cody Bailey (Lampasas, Tx.) Frank Phillips College; Kyle Landry (Lampasas, Tx) Frank Phillips College; Phillip Kish (SS New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) Daytona Beach Community College; Stetson Magilke (Lampasas, Tx.) Cisco Junior College.

I would like to inform you that I have signed a letter of intent with Peru State College in Nebraska. I would like to thank you for the exposure your website has given me and I will recomend it highly to other atheletes.

Thank you,
Chris van Keulen

Hi Don, Sean will be attending Sussex County Community College in Newton, New-Jersey in September on a full baseball scholarship. He’s quite excited about going down there. The coach saw his profile on the College Baseball Connect website and asked him to go down for an evaluation. They were impressed with what they saw and made him an offer right away.

If it hadn’t been for the website who knows where he would be right now so it was well worth getting the evaluation done. Thank you for all your help.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank collegebaseballconnect.ca, Jean-Philippe Roy for his evaluation, and especially Don Charrette for the great visibility and credibility obtained by putting Charles' profile on the website. Timing is important and now is a great time to become an active player. Players have to be patient, it sometimes takes a while. Charles received several offers in the spring, some more interesting than others. Don's last mailing in July was a great help to Charles. Calls come at the time when you least expect them. Charles got a call from Barton on July 23, 2008, signed on August 1st and had to be in Kansas on August 13th. Lots of players sign in the summer time when the teams are completing their rosters.

Charles is having a great time at Barton County Community College in Great Bend Kansas, a division 1 NJCAA college. He has never practiced as much and has learned more than he ever thought he would. The baseball program and the coaches are excellent. He is having the experience of a lifetime. He is also glad that he had a good English background despite the fact that he was brought up in Québec. One thing is sure, good marks are also an important asset to get you into a college. Wish everyone can enjoy such a great life experience. Believe in your dreams !! There is great baseball talent in Quebec.Collegebaseballconnect is a great way to display it.

Thanks again Don !

Johanne, Mario and Charles Trottier
Quebec City, Canada

Hi Don,

I just wanted to let you know that I am in the final stages of signing with Seton Hill University. Its is a 4-year school in Greensburg, Pennsylvania that is in the process of transferring from NAIA to NCAA DivII. I would like to thank you very much for the video and evaluation you provided, as it has been of great help to me. Just wanted to give you a heads up as to where I'm headed next year, and thanks again, you've helped me out a great deal in searching for a school in the U.S.

Sincerely,

I would like to thank you again for all your help in helping me find the right school. The school is RPI, a D-3 program that is ranked 19th nationally.

Thank you for making the College Baseball Connect service available to our student athletes. The entire process from the evaluations, recruiting exposure and access to coaches and schools was great. Your professionalism and personal interest added to a successful recruiting experience. Many thanks.

Thanks a lot. I owe a lot to you, without your site and your contacts I would've never been invited to go throw for Reinhardt. Keep doing what your doing.

Thanks again. J.D.