Ben Bizier was a legendary coach for Florida Southwestern baseball. He helped the Bucs to back-to-back-to-back 40-plus-wins seasons and three straight conference championships. He had a couple of offers to coach professional baseball, which led to him leaving FSW. However, those opportunities didn't work out. So now, the former Buc is setting sail for a new endeavor: to revolutionize the youth baseball scene in Southwest Florida with The Academy.
“At the center of what we’re doing is we’re going to get better today," Bizier said.
That is the mission of his brand-new baseball program: to help players get better every single day. The Academy is a baseball facility and program situated in North Fort Myers. Bizier and his team offer baseball training, nutrition advice, online schooling and more for players between the ages of 6 and 18.
Some players have even moved across the country to train at The Academy. Places such as New Mexico, South Carolina and Puerto Rico are all represented at the daily training sessions. Bizier's track record and coaching are some of the main factors for why the players want to be there.
“When you get a Ben Bizier player, you know what you’re getting," Bizier said.
One of the players is eighth grade catcher Talon Barnes who just moved from California. He says the individual players in Florida are much better than those at his old home. His dream is to get drafted one day and hopes that The Academy can get him there.
“I love The Academy for everything," Barnes said. "The way we schedule practice to the way we work out certain drills, just everything’s amazing.”
The Academy currently offers a homeschool program where the athletes take online classes at the North Fort Myers facility. There is also an after-school program, memberships and summer camps.
Bizier also has plans to build living quarters for the players, field a competitive team, start a postgraduate program and host other teams from around the country. He says all of these goals are planned out and will be implemented at the right times in the future.
“This program is going to grow because it has to," Bizier said.
Bizier hopes the new program impacts players' lives and betters the sport in the area.
“If players are getting better every day and the brand of baseball in Lee County and Southwest Florida is getting better, then we’ve succeeded," Bizier said.