{"id":7199,"date":"2025-02-09T08:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T08:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7199"},"modified":"2025-02-09T08:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T08:51:14","slug":"brad-groleau-gives-princeton-athletes-the-royal-treatment-shaw-local-news-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7199","title":{"rendered":"Brad Groleau gives Princeton athletes the Royal treatment – Shaw Local News Network"},"content":{"rendered":"


Brad Groleau (right) checks on Newman’s Briar Ivey during a blood time out at the 61st annual Lyle King wrestling tournament on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2024 at Princeton High School. Groleau is a 2013 grad of St. Bede Academy and was a two-time Bureau County Republican Baseball Player of the Year and played at McKendree University. Groleau is now a Minor League Athletic Trainer for the Kansas City Royals. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Brad Groleau continues to work his way up the ladder in the Kansas City Royals\u2019 organization entering his seventh season as an athletic trainer.
On the way to his next stop, he\u2019s making a layover in Princeton during the offseason.
Groleau, a former three-sport standout at St. Bede (Class of 2013), is working for Princeton High School this winter as an athletic trainer. He\u2019s working home basketball games and wrestling matches on a per diem basis.
You could say he\u2019s giving the Tigers<\/a> the Royal treatment.
\u201cIt\u2019s been great being able to help and provide some coverage for the athletes during my offseason and getting to know [athletic director] Jeff [Ohlson] and the coaches,\u201d he said.
Well experienced in treating ballplayers’ sprains and strains, Groleau quickly became adept at stopping bloody nose during the PIT wrestling tournament last weekend.
\u201cThat was a fast-paced environment which I really enjoyed,\u201d he said.
Ohlson said Groleau has been a great fit for PHS.
\u201cBrad does a great job for us. He has been outstanding working with our kids. It has been a win-win for both of us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have been very fortunate to have some great athletic trainers working with our kids over the last 10 years, and Brad has continued that on.\u201d
Ohlson and wrestling coach Steve Amy don\u2019t want to give him up just yet.
\u201cWe would love to keep him around, but MLB season will be calling at the end of the month,\u201d Ohlson said.
\u201cHe\u2019s been great. Too bad he\u2019s got to go back to the Royals,\u201d Amy said.
Groleau, 30, will leave at the end of the month to report to Surprise, Arizona, where the Royals share a spring training complex with the Texas Rangers. He\u2019ll primarily be working in the minor league camp but will fill in on rotation on the big league side.
At the end of spring training, he\u2019ll return to Springdale, Arkansas, for his second season with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
\u201cI spent two years in the Quad Cities in High A, which was a really good experience. Now at the Double-A level, there\u2019s really good baseball there, as well,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been really enjoyable. Arkansas is a great state.\u201d
He enjoys his travels around the Texas League with stops in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Springfield, Missouri; Wichita, Kansas; and the other side of the division in Texas, traveling as far as Corpus Christi this year.
\u201cI\u2019m really pleased with all the stadiums in the Texas League, like our stadium in Arkansas,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a top-notch facility. They maintain the facility really well. It\u2019s been a great joy to work there.\u201d
Groleau started as an intern with the Royals in Omaha in 2017 and 2018 and was brought on full time in 2019. He\u2019s seen his share of the Royals players he\u2019s worked with now up in the big leagues, most notably second baseman Michael Massey, a University of lllinois product, first baseman Vinny Pasquantino, infielder Maikel Garcia and pitcher Angel Zurpa.
\u201cI had those guys with me my first full-time job with the Royals in rookie ball. It\u2019s pretty cool to see them go from rookie ball up to the big leagues,\u201d Groleau said.
A standout on the diamond at St. Bede<\/a> as a two-time Bureau County Republican Player of the Year and at McKendree University, Groleau especially relates to the players he works with and has his own experiences to share.
\u201cThat\u2019s the best thing about this job: You form some great relationships,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve shared some of my past experiences just playing ball, and some of the guys will look up my old stats and make jokes about certain things. It\u2019s always fun to bring up.\u201d
Just like the players, Groleau said you want to work your way up with an eye on the big leagues one day.
\u201cI want to continue to work my way up in any type of role with the organization,\u201d he said. \u201cI always tell myself, too, to just stay present and be in the moment. I\u2019m really looking forward to another year in Double A and working in Arkansas. It should be a great year.\u201d
\u2022 Kevin Hieronymus has been the BCR Sports Editor since 1986. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com.<\/i>
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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Brad Groleau (right) checks on Newman’s Briar Ivey during a blood time out at the 61st annual Lyle King wrestling tournament on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2024 at Princeton High School. Groleau is a 2013 grad of St. Bede Academy and was a two-time Bureau County Republican Baseball Player of the Year and played at McKendree University. Groleau is now a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t