August 14, 2018
Justin Emond has been playing the game of baseball ever since he can remember taking his first steps. With a journey that has taken him to various cities across Canada and the United States, it’s easy for him to forget the time where it all began.
“I got pictures that I can't even remember with a bat in my hand and a big rubber ball hitting it in the backyard with my dad,” Emond said. “It’s something I just grew up playing and it's been with me since I could — really since I could walk.”
On May 11, through a post via twitter, Emond announced his commitment to play NCAA Division II baseball for Carson Newman University in Tennessee. Emond has been recruited to play primarily as a shortstop for the Eagles.
Since his summer ball days as a member of the Ottawa Knights 18U team, Emond has grown to love the excitement and responsibility that comes with playing the position. However, his decision may have never happened if not for some desperate need by coaches.
“They were moving towards how I had the athleticism to play shortstop and how it would be almost a little more wasted if I were to become a pitcher,” Emond said.
“There's just so much action all the time. You get to be in command of the field and playing shortstop is just...It's different than other positions because you're in on every play and that's what I love.”
Prior to college, Emond was a student-athlete for St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School in his native Russell, Ont. He enjoyed the contrast from the competitive ball he was used to playing and relished the opportunity to play with guys who simply wanted to stay part of a game in which they had grown up with.
“It was basically playing baseball with my best friends instead of competing against guys with the same goals as me,” Emond said. “It was just playing baseball with guys that I grew up with and I played with when I was younger.”
From sharing batting practices with teammates and coaches to running to the field to playing 40 minutes in blistering heat, Emond enjoyed every second of high school baseball.
By the end of Grade 10, Emond had established himself as a prominent shortstop for his team. His dream of reaching the college level had become a realistic opportunity for Emond to continue to be involved in the game he loves and to help pay off tuition through scholarships.
“A lot of my coaches were mentioning it to me and how there was junior college baseball. How there was NCAA baseball,” Emond said. “That's when I really turned it up and thought; 'hey, if I have a chance at this why not just train and do everything I can do to get a cheaper education and maybe even a chance you go down south which I finally got to realize this upcoming year.’”
Upon graduating high school in 2016, Emond decided to enrol at Herkimer County Community College in New York where he would go on to split duties between shortstop and third base for the Generals for two seasons. It was an opportunity that became open after his many years of playing travel ball.
While playing for the Knights, Emond was able to play a road exhibition game against Herkimer College’s freshman recruits. It was at that time where he would speak to the General’s head coach for the first time and received a mention to come to play for his team the following year.
Although he has become accustomed to being away from Russell for the past two years, Emond’s biggest reason for joining the program was to feel a little bit closer to home. It’s a step that has made him more comfortable with his decision to move to Tennessee ever since he visited Carson Newman’s campus last February.
“I think it clicked with Tennessee,” Emond said. “...The facilities there were gorgeous. The coaches were great people. Everything is just another place like Herkimer College that I knew I could call home for another few years because the people there were great.”
However, if there is anyone who truly reminds Emond about his childhood days playing baseball, only one person comes to mind.
“Oh, my dad,” Emond said with a silent pause afterward. “For sure, for sure my dad.”
From the adolescent years of coaching his little league baseball team to the long hours spent helping with his travel ball teams, Emond’s dad has been his coach for as long as he can remember. He’s taught him nearly every baseball fundamental he knows and has always been alongside to lend a helping hand.
“Even batting practice from when I was really young, we'd go to the ballpark, just the two of us to hit baseballs and I was out there last week with him hitting baseballs in the ballpark,” Emond said. “But I can't leave my mom out on it either because she was out there watching every game or supporting me every game too.”
Emond’s baseball journey has been a tale of ups and downs. As he now embarks into a college game dominated by players from the South, he says the stigma of being a Canadian ballplayer has allowed himself to distinguish himself from other American players for both better and worse.
“A thing I've heard a lot about from American coaches is that they like the players from North of the border because they have a little more grit and a little bit more tough than some of the guys from down south,” Emond said.
“So when a cold game comes around and you have a Canadian there on the bench, he’s eager to get on the field. I’ve heard that one a couple of times.”
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