Local baseball coach running clinics in place of coaching

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, Miguel Cienfuegos was poised to coach the Leamington Lakers Midget travel team through the 2020 season. He was excited to take on the task, after a successful career with the St. Clair College Saints and Northwest Florida State College.

The 23-year-old recently decided to help local baseball players and share his knowledge of the game through running some clinics.

“I am at the point in my life where I want to help kids be the best they can be,” he said.

Cienfuegos was a left-handed pitcher and outfielder who grew up in Montreal. He first came to this area to attend college at St. Clair. While there, he flourished as a player, but felt he needed to push a little harder and enrolled in the Académie de Baseball (ABC) in Montreal. From there, he was able to get a scholarship to Northwest Florida State College.

CIENFUEGOS

Upon his return to Canada, he played once again for St. Clair College under the tutelage of the late Bernie LaBute, who helped him immensely.

“Bernie always kept in touch and informed me of everything,” said Cienfuegos.

LaBute got him nominated for a 2019 WESPY award as player of the year in the baseball category, which he won.

It was through LaBute’s teachings, that Cienfuegos got the itch to be a coach.

He applied for and got the job as the Leamington Lakers Midget coach for this season and was hoping to pass his passion for the game onto his young players.

For now, Cienfuegos will be running baseball clinics at the Kinsmen Ball Diamonds.

He will cover pitching, hitting and fielding, as he teaches fundamentals of the game to players of all ages.

He will group the players into squads of four to observe health guidelines during COVID-19.

“I’m so excited for this and can’t wait to help others out by doing what I love,” he said.

Anyone interested in attending a clinic, can contact Miguel at m.cienfuegos10@hotmail.com