Gavin Galenza didn’t exactly follow in his father’s footsteps.
While Gavin fell in love with baseball at an early age his father, Ryan, was into fastball.
But there were definitely similarities.
Ryan was a catcher on the highly regarded Camrose Merchants and competed for Team Alberta in the 1997 Canada Summer Games. Gavin is a catcher at the St. Joe’s High School Baseball Academy and a member of the Red Deer Carstar Braves U18AAA squad. He will compete for Team Alberta at the 2022 Canada Summer Games.
“Being athletic was always in my family and I started playing baseball when I was four or five and fell in love with it,” said Gavin. “I played a lot of positions growing up but my dad was a catcher and while I feel I can play a number of positions catching has my heart.”
Gavin was born in Grande Prairie but moved to Camrose prior to entering Grade 1. In Grade 10 he made the decision to move to Red Deer to enroll in the St. Joe’s Academy.
“Someone in Baseball Alberta mentioned it and I have family here so my mom and I thought it was a good move,” the 18-year-old explained. “I had met Jason (Academy head coach Jason Chatwood) while I was at the Western Canada Summer Games in 2019 and I enjoyed him as a person and felt it was a good move coming here.”
The academy has been everything Gavin hoped.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s like a family and a real benefit to play your sport every day. It’s helped me a lot as a player and as a person. I really appreciate the things given to me and enjoyed every opportunity I’ve had at the Academy.
“One of the things I did was build a bond with the other catcher there (Kyle Belich) and we spend a lot of time finding ways to get better … to work on all aspects of our game. Having someone there to push you makes you better.”
While he works a lot on his catching he also spends as much time as possible on his offensive game.
“I think I’ve always been a good hitter,” he said. “Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sport and I put a lot of time into it and I’m glad I’ve excelled at every level.”
Gavin is hitting .500 with the Braves this season. He’s also played one game with the Sylvan Lake Gulls of the Western Canada Baseball League, collecting a hit in four trips to the plate. He played seven games with the Gulls last season and was more than impressive going three-for-four with three runs, two doubles, three RBIs, two walks and a 2.107 OPS (on base plus slugging).
“It was a real honour to be asked by Jason to not only play but just be around the college guys. I learned a lot,” he said.
Several of the players were from Colby Community College in Kansas, where Gavin will head this fall.
The five-foot-eight, 190-pound Galenza received a two-year scholarship to the junior college as a catcher.
“I’m kind of built like a catcher,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m athletic and played a lot of sports.”
He also impresses on the mound and while he doesn’t plan on pitching at the next level, he’s glad to did.
“Having that experience helps a lot as a catcher and as a hitter,” he said. “Just knowing what’s in a pitcher’s head helps knowing what to call, or when you’re at bat.”
He was a goalie in hockey until 14 and played some basketball, badminton and ran track in school.
“I still miss hockey, but baseball is my game,” he said.
Following his two seasons at Colby, Gavin will look to find a Division I school and hopefully one day play professionally.
“It’s my dream to go on to Division I after college and see where baseball takes me,” he said. ”But it’s one step at a time. College is a big step and all I can do is push forward and one day hopefully get to pro ball.”
The first step is to compete in the Summer Games and then help the Braves win the provincial U18 title.
Gavin won’t be alone on Team Alberta, joining Braves teammates Matt Murray, Jaxon Zanolli of Olds and Nathan Flewelling of Innisfail. The team is coached by Red Deer’s Dwayne Lalor.
“Dwayne helps at the Academy, so he knows us from there, plus he coached me in 2019 at the Western Canada Summer Games.
“The fact he knows us and knows what we can do helped for sure. Jaxon and I are the team’s two 18-year-olds and he knew we could fill in the positions he needed us to (catcher and pitcher).
“We’ve all earned it. It’s one of the biggest tournaments in the country … it’s like going to the Olympics on a smaller scale, just being there with all the other athletes and sports is a lot of fun and a great leanring experience.”
Gavin hopes to return to the Canadian championships with the Braves.
“I feel on paper we have the best team in the province,” he said. “We started a bit slow, but have played well of late. It would be great to go to the Nationals. I was there twice before with Okotoks when I lived in Camrose.”
This is expected to be Gavin’s final year with the Braves as he’ll likely suit up with the Gulls next season.
“There are other good options in the area but hopefully Jason gives me a call,” he concluded.
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at danrode@shaw.ca