Oakville High Baseball Player Selected for Busch Stadium Exhibition

Chad Gendron is learning at a young age that a strong work ethic and hustle yield results. That’s the advice he gives to kids who want to play professional sports.

“Take a deep breath, settle down, and get what needs to be done, done,” Gendron said. 

Gendron, who seems to be taking his own advice, just finished his senior year of baseball at . His coach, Rich Sturm, nominated him for the first ever SmilesLEAGUE St. Louis Coaches’ Choice All-Star High School Baseball Game, and Gendron was selected. The two All-Star teams include 32 high school seniors from public schools throughout St. Louis City and County. Players were randomly combined to form the “All-Star Blue Team” and the “All-Star Green Team.” They will play a game at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at Busch Stadium.

The All-Star Blue Team will be coached by former Cardinals third baseman Scott Cooper, a St. Louis native who played high school baseball for the Pattonville Pirates, spent seven seasons in the major leagues and was a member of the American League All-Star team in both 1993 and 1994.

The “All-Star Green Team” will be coached by former Cardinals outfielder Kerry Robinson, who also is a St. Louis native. Robinson was a three-sport athlete for the Hazelwood Spartans and went on to play for the Tampa Bay Rays and was a Cardinal from 2001 to 2003, appearing in the post-season in 2001 and 2002.

Just like the big league All-Star Game, a Homerun Derby will be held at 3:30 p.m., prior to the main event.

Gendron, who plans on studying sports marketing at Maryville University in the fall, started playing sports when he was 5-years-old. He played six sports in the beginning, and baseball was the one that stuck. He now can throw a fastball up to approximately 90 mph.

“I tried being a catcher, infielder—I still play the outfield—I basically tried every position,” he said.

He said that playing at Busch Stadium is a dream come true and that voted to the All-Star team was completely unexpected.

“I got the call from my coach and it came as a complete surprise,” Gendron said. “I mean, the final four last year was a pretty big scale. But nothing like Busch Stadium will be. Being on the mound like Carpenter and Holliday—I think I’m going to play some outfield there as well.”

Ever humble, Gendron said that he owes his nomination to his great defense that was behind him all year, and that a big part of his success has been mental.

“It wasn’t just me that did what needed to be done this year, I did have some good defense behind me,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are the biggest guy or how hard you throw. If you show the coach you have what it takes, you will get your shot.”

Game day admission tickets are $5 to admit two. Children under 12 are free if accompanied by an adult. Tickets are currently being sold at Delta Dental’s office at 12399 Gravois Road. Each $5 ticket stub will be included in a drawing for Cardinals game tickets. Up to 500 ticket holders will each win two tickets to the Cardinals game Sept. 24 against the Chicago Cubs.

All event proceeds will benefit Cardinals Care, Give Kids A Smile and the Delta Dental Health Theatre.