A new face will be in the dugout for the Midget AAA 57's for the upcoming baseball season, as Dustin Bissonnette was named the program's new head coach.

"I'm excited just to have the opportunity and to help this program in Swift Current improve, get better, and kind of get a re-focus here," Bissonnette said. "I look forward to playing baseball the right way, playing hard, and getting some good quality fundamental baseball back in Swift Current here, and getting on the right track." 

The Lethbridge-born Bissonnette takes over the reins for a Midget AAA team that finished last season with a 7-23 record, good for 10th place in the 11-team Sask Premier Baseball League.

"I want it to be almost kind of mimicking a college program or high-level high school program. That's how I was taught ball, so I'm going to teach the way I was taught. Of course I may have to make some adjustments," he admitted, touching on a few key points he's looking forward to implementing.

"Fundamental baseball, doing the basics - we're going to start from there and make sure we have good control, and minimize the little errors. I can kind of envision it as being a well-run program with hustle, guys doing what they need to do, and running it like a quality program."

Both current Swift Current Minor Baseball President Pat Rokochy and past President Kevin Patenaude dealt with the hiring of of Bissonnette, and agree it's a move that improves the program already.

"This is an elite level of baseball in the province of Saskatchewan - this is the highest level," Rokochy said."We were excited when we knew Dustin was available and wanting to coach."

"It's a big commitment and in today's day and age it's really tough to find someone that's willing to put that commitment in," Patenaude added.

Bissonnette, a former college star at Louisiana State University - Shreveport, who also logged time in the WMBL with both the Lethbridge Bulls and formerly-name Swift Current Indians (now 57s), says running this program in his first stint as a head coach was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

"I just think it's a really good fit for me - at this level these kids are eager to learn and they want to be successful," Bissonnette said. "They're passionate about it as far as playing hard, coming out every day, and giving it their all. When they do that with that kind of attitude, they can make huge strides. One of the goals this year is improvement - obviously putting a winning team on the field too."

In Bissonnette's playing days at LSU-Shreveport from 2004-06, the 5-foot-9 infielder sits top-5 in the school's record books on a number of categories.

The Albertan sits second all-time in hits (240), fourth in career batting average (.377), fourth in total bases (307), and tied-second in walks (116).

He's also the college's leader in single-season hits (99), tied-second in single-season batting average (.444), and fourth in single-season on-base percentage (.543).

Bissonnette, who has some assistant coaching experience at the WMBL level with then-Swift Current Indians, was one of a handful of candidates suggested in the hiring process by head coach Joe Carnahan.

Involving a prominent back-to-back WMBL championship-winning coach and SCMB board member in the process was an asset Rokochy says they're extremely lucky to utilize.

"It would be unheard of to have someone like that in a small town," he noted of the opportunity. "He works very closely with the minor baseball program, he's on our Board, so he does everything he can to help our program succeed. He's a first-class guy, he's a winner, and having guys like that that Dustin can use as a mentor when he's coaching... we all couldn't be any luckier."

With the snow melting and the sun shining, baseball season is around the corner in the southwest, and Bissonnette and SCMB are looking forward to making strides after the recent hiring.

"We couldn't be happier. From Swift Current's perspective, we have a tradition of excellence from the 57s all the way down - there's a lot of provincial championships," Rokochy said. "There's been a ton of success - most of the kids that are going to play on Dustin's team have five or six provincial championships, been to three or four Western Canadian tourneys. Success is there in Swift Current."

Dustin is joined so far on the Midget AAA 57s' coaching staff by Justin Kehler, as the Swift Current product and former WMBL pitcher was named the first assistant coach of the program.

As the minor baseball season draws near, more coaches will be named to roles in what looks to be a resurgence of Midget AAA baseball in the southwest.