SANDLOT BASEBALL EXPERIENCE

Tampa Can't Come Soon Enough! (Thx Steve)

2012-02-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

Leaving this Sunday and returning on the 17th....

Stay tuned :)

SECOND PLACE FINISH AT WORLD QUALIFIER

2011-11-29T12:30:00.001-08:00

Sorry for not being able to update as much while in South America. My connection was terrible and every time I went to publish a post it was deleted. None the less, below are some photos throughout my two weeks in Cartagena. It was a experience I will never forget!

Columbia - Day 3 – “CANADA 7 PANAMA 3”

2011-11-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

I’m extremely tired tonight so this one is going to be in point form… Great Day, first official win at the international level as a coach. We pounded out 13 hits, played solid defense behind our starting pitcher who went 6 innings.
Stadium is very neat, lots of character, but the playing surface is not so nice. Long bus rides, lots of traffic, hot and sweaty, my dirty laundry is piling up in a hurry. Angus Bacon burger for lunch today, delicious!Opening Ceremonies, lots of fireworks, lots of people, lots of music, lots of people speaking a foreign language which made for a long night! Our schedule now has us playing Brasil tomorrow at 1pm followed by two days off. Im thinking about getting on a boat and fishing for some sharks on our off day…thoughts???
Follow our journey online at http://www.tv.une.net.co/zonastream/.You can watch our games on that link above.Also, follow us on twitter at the Baseball Canada website. Our public relations coordinator Adam Morrissete usually tweets every 15 minutes.
Hope everyone is well back home.
Cheers,
Eck

Columbia - Day 2 – “Practice”

2011-11-20T21:38:00.001-08:00

Well, I was wide awake at 6:30am this morning. I had a quick shower and headed down for breakfast in the lobby. 2 eggs and a glass of water…yum…We departed for practice at 9:15am (GONG SHOW). Where do I begin??? The drive was a good hour to the park, mainly because the side road we took had pot holes about 5 feet deep. No, I am not lying. It was quite entertaining. ..We have a police officer who rides on the bus with us everywhere we go, and we also have a police officer who rides on his motorcycle infront of us. ANYWAYS, we show up to the field and sure enough, there are 3 other teams there that are scheduled for the same time slot. Typical South American run tournament….grrrrrr…we were not impressed but we got our work done. There is a rumor that Cuba and the Bahamas are not making the tournament which is really strange. The technical meeting is tonight so we will know more in regards to schedule later tonight.
Cheers,
Eck

Columbia - Day 1 - "Travel Day"

2011-11-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

Well it was an early start to a long day of travel and chaos. We left our hotel in Boca Raton at 3am for our 6am flight to Cartagena. The team travels with so much equipment and gear that its crucial for us to get there early and settle up with the airlines and make sure our gear is on board. We flew with Avianca Air, an airline I haven't been on before. I was impressed, comfortable and spacious. Our first flight to Bogata went relatively fast as I slept for a good two hours. We landed in Bogata and had a 1.5 hour layover. When I got into Columbia, the officer didn't like my passport and made me wait for 15 minutes as the rest of the team and staff carried on to the departing gate. I was getting a little nervous. My passport doesn't swipe properly since my wife accidentally ran my passport through the wash not too long ago J. Its worked everywhere Ive gone, but usually they have to type in my information. It all got sorted out and I was able to catch my next flight into Cartagena. What a beautiful city! I look out my hotel and the Carribean Sea is 40ft away. My hotel is OKAY, nothing special. Internet is poor, my bed is rock hard, and the shower is a little dirty.BUT, I'm here to qualify for a world championship, not on vacation. We went downtown into the old city for dinner and walked around for a bit. I was out cold by 10pm!
Cheers,
Eck

USA 12 CANADA 12

2011-11-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day, a fun day, a day where you dont know what inning it is and all you know is thats its going to be a seesaw battle back and fourth. Our bats were on fire today. Numerous guys stepped up to the plate and got the job done. Our pitching is still suspect, but should be good enough to qualify. Our training is now done as we leave tomorrow for Columbia. The World Qualifier begins on November 17th where we will square off against Brasil in the opener. Currently 5:30pm here...Just about to head upstairs for final player exit meetings. Wish me a safe flight!

PS. I didnt take any photos on field today, but I did happen to capture a funny picture while we were waiting for our bus.........plus a couple others...

"GET FIT @ FAU"

Okay, I feel bad about these pics. I was forced to do it!!!

Bus Driver....LATE AGAIN!

FAU Campus...Lots of bikes and long boards...

Team USA

2011-11-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

A check off my bucket list occurred today...No, we didn't beat the American National Team, but I got to coach against them. You can't describe what its like to look over at the opposing teams dugout and see a United States Flag, and then look at your own and see the Canadian Flag. You get butterflies during moments like today and if you don't, theres something wrong with you. The Americans and Cubans are usually the standard when it comes to International Baseball. We are not far behind as the International rankings were just announced and we are currently listed at 6th, right behind the Netherlands. Managing the US team this year is Scott Brosious...remember him? Former New York Yankee...There team is loaded with talent, but beatable. We shot ourself in the foot today, leaving far too many runners on base. Our pitchers have really struggled in our first 4 games. Command around the strike zone has been an issue and we have allowed far too many base on balls. You cant defend walks and they will always come back to haunt you. Despite losing going into the 9th inning, we decided to practice the tie breaker rule before heading to the world qualifier. In international baseball, if the game is tied after 9 innings, you get to put two runners on base at first and second. You can choose anybody in your line up but it has to be in order. We put our 9 hole and 1 hole on base leaving the 2 hole to bunt him over. Job executed but our middle guys couldnt cash anybody in....story of todays game....

Regardless, a memorable experience in my short coaching career that I won't ever forget. We see them again tomorrow morning and I sure as hell hope we see them in the crossover games in Columbia.

10am game tomorrow and then an early night as we depart for the airport at 3am the next morning.

We have 3 player cuts to make by tomorrow night. I remember the night when I played on the junior national team where the coaching staff had to make decisions. It's never a fun time for the players but decisions needs to be made as we move forward.

I will add one last post with a few pictures tomorrow before heading to South America. Hopefully, my internet connection over there will allow me to remain in contact with you.

Cheers

- Eck

University of Miami

2011-11-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

Greg Hamilton and Jim Morris...Legends...

Welcome to Alex Rodriguez Field - He dontated 4 Millon to this Park

$250,000 to purchase a box at this stadium

Nice locker room...

Dustin Houle going for a t-time......

Well after getting slaughtered yesterday by Florida Atlantic, the competition wasnt going to get any easier moving forward. Tonight, we faced the University of Miami, one of the top schools in the nation. We were winning 3-1 going into the 6th inning before giving up the lead. We swung the bats really well tonight punching out 11 hits. There closer came in throwing 94-95 so that tells you what kind of arms we are seeing. The boys were treated to a tour of the baseball complex when we arrived. Icon Jim Morris (Head Coach) has been at Miami for the past 19 years. He talked with the kids for about 30 minutes before we took our BP. We had a quick pregame meal before our 6pm start. I got to sleep in till 9am this morning :) before coaches meetings. We play the USA tomorrow at 1pm, should be a doozie...

I enjoy hearing from everyone while I am away. Keep the emails coming and I will try and get back to you when I can.

- Eck

A win is a win...

2011-11-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it wasn't a pretty victory but we found a way to get the job done. A sluggish start defensively and we were behind 3-0 after three innings. We eventually won the game 9-5 after a 5 run 8th inning, but you could tell that our guys timing was off at the dish. We out hit the opposition 11-3, but made 4 errors in the field. I was impressed with this high school club that we faced. They were ranked number 1 in the US last year by Baseball America. The game wrapped up around 10pm as we got back to our hotel just after 11pm. Currently 1am here right now and about to hit the sac. We play Florida Atlantic University tomorrow at 1pm, stay tuned...

Nice little high school yard in Ft. Lauderdale

- Eck

Day 1 - Journey to Columbia

2011-11-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

Too much gear!!!

Love the new uniform in black...

One section of my room

From my balcony

As usual, it's always a long day of travel for the west coast players. I spent the night in Vancouver and caught a flight early Wednesday morning. I had a small layover in Dallas before meeting the rest of the team in Miami. We had about an hour drive from Miami to Boca Raton where we will be staying for the next 6 nights. Got to bed around 2am. Grabbed a quick bite from McDonalds (bad), and picked up all our gear for the duration of the trip. As you can tell from the pictures above, if you are fortunate enough to ever play on this team, you should be extremely grateful for the amount of perks it comes with. A whole new wardrobe, not too mention new gloves, bats, batting gloves, catchers gear, sliding shorts, sun glasses...You name it...the kids receive it. I hope it is all appreciated by the players. Woke up this morning at 6am, had a quick breakfast downstairs in the lobby and left for practice at 815am. We practiced at Florida Atlantic University today where we worked on bunt defense, 1st and 3rds, pick offs and rundowns. We also went through our infield/outfield routine followed by on-field BP. Just had lunch at the hotel and our bus leaves again at 3:30pm for Ft. Lauderdale where we will play a nationally ranked highschool at 7:30pm. Gonna go for a quick cat nap...Fill you in tomorrow...

Cheers,
Eck

Updates / Thoughts

2011-07-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would actually take some time tonight and let everyone know how crazy life has been this past while. Today was the last day of summer camps and lessons until fall. I've hit burn out mode and am ready for the month of August. I leave tomorrow for the Island as my Junior Cardinal team will be playing for a provincial championship. Our team went 32-16 this year, very impressive. I hope to continue our success this weekend and bring home a championship. Our junior team has been to the Final Four the last three years but have not been able to bring home the gold.

After the weekend I return home for a week before I leave for Moncton, NB where I will be coaching at the Canada Cup for the U17 Select Team. Once that is over I'll be heading up to Vernon to unwind for a couple weeks. I promise I will update my website some time next week. There are over 50 kids signed up already for the Sandlot Academy and 38 signed up at Yale Secondary. CRAZY! I just got three more emails today, make that 53! The program doesnt even start till October..............Not sure how I am going to make more room, nearly impossible. If you have signed up for these programs, please send me your childs clothing size if you have not done so already.

I just bought a house at Garrison Crossing in Chilliwack so I will no longer be here in Abbotsford. I might as well set up a bed and fridge at Delair since that is my second home. I also got engaged last month :). Not like you all care, but some do! Wedding is set for next October.....*crosses fingers*...not sure when the World Championships will be held in Korea...I am hoping August.....trying to have the wedding at a baseball field, not sure if that will happen............

I am debating whether to start my own 10U, 12U, and 14U Academy Teams that would be affiliated with Sandlot and the Abbotsford Cardinals. Thoughts????? I don't want to step on peoples toes, but I feel as though the season is so short. The elite caliber players want more games and more development. Unfortunately, the house spring season is a joke due to weather, and there is no fall schedules for these kids. Ive done my research... Lots of teams in Ontario who run Elite Academy Teams year round. They play close to 70 games a year and practice together all year. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself but my mind is always thinking of new adventures. I believe people would commit. They do it in hockey, so why not baseball? Baseball is a 12 month sport now, especially with new indoor training.

Food for thought!

Bed time...

Website will be updated by the end of next week...

Cheers.

Eck

Pictures of Toronto and Cuba

2011-07-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Dominican Pictures

2011-05-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Seattle Mariners Bullpen

Mariners Dugouts: Little different...

Lots of motorcycles...

Mariners Dormatory

Tom Robson being Tom...

During our first rain delay...

45 minutes into our rain delay...

Hiding from the rain: Adam Elwood (trainer) on the right

Game over.....

Milwaukee Brewers Facility

Our Bus!

Downtown Santo Domingo

Atlanta Braves Complex

Detroit Tigers Complex

New York Mets Complex....Only complex with turf...

Tampa Bay Devil Rays Complex

Stadium....David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, and many more grew up playing here

Justin Atkinson looking to score a run

Never give your camera to your players...This is what happens....Posers!

Paying attention to detail...

Suicide squeeze?

DOMINICAN TOUR ENTRY 1

2011-05-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello Hello

Well, after trying to log on for 30 minutes, I finally got a connection...a slow one...Lets hope everything saves and it will post accordingly.

I left Abbotsford, Tuesday night at 730pm. My girlfriend and I had a quick stop at McDonalds (yeah, I know) and made it out to YVR in record time. Even though I hate saying goodbye so much and so often as of late, shes been so supportive and great throughout my journeys:). Our flight left at 11pm which got us into Toronto at 6:30am Toronto time. We then had a lay over until 11am before our next flight to Miami...I THEN had another 6 hour lay over before our next flight to the DR. That flight was delayed almost an hour....I dont sleep well on planes, so 24 hours of traveling didnt sit well. While we were at the Miami airport, I got to hang out in the "Admirals Lounge" with our business manager Larry Pearson. We got to our resort around 2am...yes 2am and played at 11am this morning.

Resort is very nice...

white sandy beach
lots of restaurants
gym
pools
lots of food

Very nice people around here. Crazy drivers. Crazy animals.

The ballpark was very neat. We basically played in the middle of the jungle. We lost 4-2 to the Twins Dominican Professional League team today. I was impressed with the quality of the diamonds. I will post pictures soon.

My junior team won last night, nice work coaches and players.

The weather is ridiculous, sorry to you people back home :)

Ill shut up now.

On the road again....

2011-04-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

These trips have been much harder on the business than I thought it would. I really dislike saying "no" to clients because of time restraints. I am sorry to those who I have not yet been able to accommodate. The weather hasn't helped us either, and our facility that is being built seems to be taking forever! When I return home in May, I will try and get all of you in before I leave again on the 18th.

Our Abbotsford Junior Cardinals opened up the season with a disappointing 2-2 record. Yes, disappointing...We didn't execute well enough and didn't take advantage of numerous opportunities during the course of 2 games. I guess that's what happens with a young team trying to get their feet wet in the premier league.

This trip to Orlando will be extremely busy. We have 8 games and 7 practices booked in a span of 9 days. We will play against the extended spring MLB clubs at the beautiful ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. It will be a busy place as the MLB Draft is in June and all the head haunchos will be out watching our boys as they try to bump their stock in the upcoming draft.

I will be staying at the Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village, a place which now feels like a vacation home. This will be my 5th time down to Orlando...Hard to believe!

Time to start packing...

Here is the field we will be playing at and a small piece of the Marriott Village...

Spring Training 2011: Abbotsford Cardinals

2011-04-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Another successful trip to Scottsdale, AZ where both the junior and senior clubs were able to get plenty of field time during the course of their 9 day stay. Our junior club went 4-2 while down there, and had plenty of on field practices on the side. Our team swung the bats very well all week, and pitchers gave us a chance to win ball games. We stayed at the Days Inn at Fashion Square Mall which was prime location. The boys bounced all over the Phoenix area as they toured Westgate, Camelback Complex, Salt River Complex, and more. The weather was average while down there reaching only 74 degrees. We wish to thank Ryan Dyer of the Saguaro Baseball Program for hosting us down there and we look to attend for many more years down the road. I will leave you with some pictures of our trip.

I take off on the road again on April, 20th. I will be heading back to Orlando, FL where the JNT will be playing instructional league teams during their stay.

Senior Cardinals Home Opener: April, 9th

Junior Cardinals Home Opener: April, 16th / 1pm

Keep updated at www.abbotsfordcardinals.com

March, 6th: Coming Home

2011-03-06T08:08:00.001-08:00

Well, our first trip of 2011 is over and it was one that I will remember. Lots of "firsts" during the course of the trip for the staff and players involved. We wrapped up last night against the Netherlands. A solid team which had many players who played in the World Baseball Classic. We came out really flat and didn't swing the bats very well. Our game finished up around 10pm and we then had to drive over to the other clubhouse and empty out our lockers before heading back to the hotel. I didnt get into my room until about midnight. The coaches then sat around for an hour before calling it a night. Today, half of the team were bused to the airport at 5:45am and the other half will be bused at 12:15pm. I have a 2:30pm flight into Dallas, hour lay over, and then a 5:20pm flight into Vancouver which gets me in around 7:45pm our time. I'm dreading the flight as I havent been able to shake off this head cold!

I return home for about 11 days and then I am off to Arizona with the Abbotsford Cardinals. Hopefully, I can get some lessons in with some of my clients before taking off again. I trust that everyone has enjoyed the blog so far and I will continue to post on a regular basis. Thanks for all the emails.

Cheers!

Canadas Team vs Canadas Future

2011-03-04T15:57:00.000-08:00

Highlights of today...

- Pat Gillick, GM of the Phillies in the stands
- Buck Martinez, Blue Jays play by play broadcaster in the stands
- Having a conversation with Johnny Mac and Aaron Hill before the game
- Fan 590 in attendance
- Scott Mathieson stopping by after our game
- Alex Calbick and Jeff Gibbs (former JNT alumni) in attendance
- Brett Lawrie looks great, physical specimen, was nice to touch base with him
- Other Canadians that played were Adam Loewen, Michael Crouse, and Marcus Knecht
- High end prospects Maguire, Gose, and Alverez all played
- Johnny Mac made two great plays up the middle in the first two innings.

GOLF

2011-03-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

Chris Reitsma: Former Atlanta Brave Relief Pitcher

Hyung Cho: Seattle Mariner Draft Pick

Mike Johnson: Former Montreal Expo

Adam Morissette: Media Relations

Adam Elwood: Trainer

Reitsma taking a pee pee....

Our new friend...

March 1st-3rd

2011-03-03T04:43:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have not written the past couple days as I have come down with another cold/flu bug. I must of caught it from the other coach who was sick earlier in the week. After practice yesterday morning, I literally slept from 2pm - midnight before waking up. So we played on March, 1st against St. Petersburg Junior College. We played okay, but not good enough. This team tried to suicide squeeze in the 2nd inning with a 2 run lead....For those who respect the game, and understand how the game is to be played, this is something you DO NOT do. They were obviously desperate to win at all costs. We take a much different approach down here. It's all about development and putting kids in situations where they can get something out of it. The process is long, but worth it in the end. Did I tell you it rained here the other day? Wind was blowing like crazy down at the stadium because we are so close to the water. Today, (march 3rd) we practice this morning and the kids have the afternoon off. The mayor of St. Petersburg has paid for the coaching staff to go golfing this afternoon at a prestigious course. I hope I am feeling better by then so I can take part in it. Tomorrow, we play the Blue Jays and they have sold over 4,000 tickets for the game. Aaron Hill, Johnny McDonald, Brett Lawrie, Adam Loewen, and many others will be playing against us. Should be a great atmosphere for everyone.

Cheers.

February, 28th

2011-02-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day! Got our first win against the Korean Professional team. You must understand that we usually dont win during our trips as we train against professional teams throughout the year in preparation for the World Junior events. Great pitching, outstanding defense, and timely hitting led to a 2-0 victory.

February, 27th

2011-02-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

Woke up to the beautiful warm sun beaming on my face at 6:30am this morning. I went for a quick run down by the water and then headed back for a quick shower and breakfast. Once again, we headed over to our practice facility, geared up, and headed back to Al Lang Stadium for our 1pm game against Beach State Independent. We had a good BP, quick lunch, followed by our infield/outfield pre game. Today, there was an 18 year old country star from the area who sang the national anthems...her voice gave everyone tingles, very impressive. The team we played was not very good, and we managed to blow the game in the 9th inning with a couple walks, poor bunt defense execution, followed by a double to the wall and they took a 2 run lead. Lessons were learned from today events as we could of been much better on the base paths and our players should have never of underestimated our opponents the way they did. None the less, this whole process is a learning curve for these young men. There was another good turnout at todays game, about a 1000. They have certain events that go on between innings like the Vancouver Canadian games so the crowd gets wired up. The same hecklers were in attendance as yesterday. I don't think they have any idea that our team is made up of 14-18 year olds.

I am going to post pictures near the end of my trip. Our media relations coordinator is going to send me a cd of photos from throughout the week. I will post those, and some of my own as well.

I hear everyone is enjoying the snow back home.................brutal!

February, 26th

2011-02-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

Another long day, currently 1am my time, and I can't fall asleep. Thought I would quickly recap todays events as it was our first day.

9:30am - Bus to the Walter Fuller Complex (practice facility) where we suited up before heading over to Al Lang Stadium

10:40am - Arrive at the facility (after getting lost down town st.petes)

11:50am - On field pre game BP...arm was hanging today after throwing yesterday...

Lunch in the clubhouse followed by pre game, national anthems, opening pitch, etc etc. There was over 1000 fans at todays game against the Korean Professional Team. Lots of hecklers in the stands today...This Korean team had some ex major leaguers...Corey Aldridge (played with angels last year). We played 6 strong before losing 8-0...Gary Sheffield, former MLB all-star, hung out in our dugout for a few innings and chatted with us. Game time was close to 3 hours...drove back to our clubhouse at the practice facility, showered, and headed back to the hotel. Dinner followed by a coaches meeting and that was my day...

Same plan tomorrow...

Cheers.

February, 25th

2011-02-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well, after falling asleep at 3:30am last night, I was hoping for a relaxing day around the yard...We left our building around 10am and headed to our practice complex about 20 minutes away. This is the old Tampa Bay Devil Rays facility...I apologize for not posting any pictures or video as of yet. It is very tough to carry a camera around the diamond when you have obligations. We got settled into our complex, took a quick tour of the weight room, doctors room, hitting tunnels, fields, etc. Once all the players got their uniforms sized, Greg Hamilton ( Head Coach ) had a 20 minute meeting with the boys in preparation for the week. We are supporting brand new uniforms this trip. We have used Majestic apparel for many years and have now switched over to Under Armour...The pants fit much nicer....We had lunch in the clubhouse...Bernie, our clubhouse manager who was elected into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, takes care of all the off field duties. His wife attends each trip and makes the best sandwiches in the world. Adam Morrisette will be our media relations personnel for the week. Before we headed out to practice, Jamie Campbell, Toronto Blue Jay analysts on Rogers Sportsnet was there with his film crew. They interviewed players and staff as we will be a part of every pre game show of the Toronto Blue Jays this year. All 162 games...pretty cool...We had a 4 hour practice today...positional work, bullpens, infield/outfield, 1st and 3rds, but defenses, and BP. Not many scouts out today, only the Yankees, Athletics, Red Sox, and Mariners were in attendance. Tomorrow we play a professional Korean team who will be very good. There have been over 1000 tickets sold for the game so I anticipate the kids will be excited.

Off to bed...

Ps...I almost killed myself driving today...long story, but put it this way, theres lots of ONE WAY STREETS :S...

Travel Day: February, 24th

2011-02-24T23:20:00.000-08:00

Well, its 2:15 in the morning and I just got to my hotel about an hour ago....I'll keep it to point form notes because I can barely see straight at the moment...

- high anxiety for me on travel days...I have a phobia of airports for whatever reason and wish I could relax more...once I get through customs I seem to be A-OK

- smooth sailing through the airport at YVR

- 3.5 hour flight from Vancouver to Dallas

- our hour lay over in Dallas ended up being over 2 hours with a slight delay

- didn't get into Tampa until about 12:30am

- had an "interesting" couple sitting beside me on my last flight...they were kissing the entire flight, very akward...

- barely anybody on my first flight so I got to sprawl across 3 seats and enjoy some shut eye...

- bus was on time and took us back to where we are staying

- interesting layout...i walked into a brand new condominium with a brand new LCD tv sitting on my floor not installed...cant quite figure that one out...

- we are literally a 30 second walk away from Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Breakfast at 8am tomorrow morning then off to the field...

G Night...zzzzzzzzzz

Packing.....

2011-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or do we all wait till the very last minute to get things done when we are about to travel? Travel Insurance? Check...Laundry? Nope....Toiletries? Nope...Ipod Charged? Nope...Is it wrong of me to think that my girlfriend will do all of this for me? lol... I am getting anxious to get away from the cold weather here in Abbotsford. I just checked the forecast and I am sure glad to be hoping on a plane to beautiful 28 degree weather.

I am slowly compiling a list of things I need to pack. If I forget anything, please post a comment below :). Over my travels the past couple years, there is one thing you can never have enough of....FRESH SOCKS! Would you agree? I always overpack, so I am going to take a different approach this time around and keep my wardrobes to a minimum...:s...flip flops and shorts...simple enough...

Instead of packing today, I ended up attending the Pee Wee tryouts at the Ag Rec building. I must of thrown about a 1000 baseballs during batting practice, but it was interesting to see all of the up and comers here in Abbotsford. Without sounding boastful, I was very proud to see my Sandlot students carry themselves in a respectful manner. All of you showed very well today, job well done and I hope all of you have a fair chance at making the AA teams this year. If not, that means theres more work to do!

LIST...............
- deoderant
- contacts
- solution
- clippers
- q-tips
- glasses
- cologne
- t.paste
- t.brush
- razors
- shaving cream
- camera
- ipod

Ok enough blabbing...

Next entry will take place from sunny St. Petes!

Cya!

2011 Schedules...

2011-02-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

For those interested, I will post a link below where you can check out where I will be during the course of the year. This schedule does not include my spring training trip in Arizona with the Cardinals. As you will be able to tell, its hectic!

Despite my travels, I will still be available for lessons and camps throughout the spring and summer.

For our TEAM CANADA schedule, please log on to www.baseball.ca...Click on national teams, scroll down to "junior", and information such as schedule, roster, and pitching rotations will be available for you to read.

For our ABBOTSFORD JUNIOR CARDINAL schedule, please log on to www.abbotsfordcardinals.com. There Cardinals will be traveling to Arizona in March, Everett in May, Washington Sate in June, and Oliver in July. This tournament play alongside a 48 game league schedule will be a challenging test for the U16 group this year.

Here is a picture of Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL where we will be training. This Spring Training trip is a new addition to the Junior National Team Schedule. For the first time ever, the JNT will be playing a split squad of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball Club. We will also square off against the Korean Nexon Heros, Beach State Independent, St. Petersburg Junior College, and the Netherlands.

Opening Statement...

2011-02-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hello!

During the course of 2011 and 2012, I will be fortunate enough to travel the world and represent my country in the highest regard. Although I played at the national level in 2003 as a player, this experience will be much different now as I view the game of baseball from the bench, as a coach. Since my career ending injury in 2004, my world has changed drastically. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I imagine I would have this opportunity so soon in my life. I have been blessed to work with so many skilled individuals who have broadened my knowledge of the game and have opened doors for me on a regular basis. I never thought I would be able to make a living in baseball. Perhaps, I have continued to coach because I have not been able to accept my injury. Maybe the hurt of losing a scholarship, never getting a sniff at playing professionally, and the hurt I saw in my parents eyes when the injury occurred has grown and instilled a fire inside that will keep me in the game forever. People always ask me why do I have so many baseball tattoos? Let me tell you...The Canadian Maple Leaf on my leg with a baseball represents something I will forever remember, putting on a TEAM C JERSEY. About a year ago, I had "For the Love of the Game" written above it which happens to be my favorite baseball movie. I have baseball seams wrapped around my ankle with the number "47" on my ankle bone. For close friends who know me, we all know that 47 was never my number. I chose "47" because it represented a new chapter in my life as a coach which I have warn for the past 7 years. Lastly, I recently got a tattoo above the scar on my arm that says, "Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten...Turning wounds into wisdom". Those words are a constant reminder that I am doing much greater things as a coach now....As I know none of these amazing opportunities would have happened if I were to still be playing, I would be lying if I said it doesn't hurt. From my business at the Sandlot, to our growing academy at Yale Secondary, to my club team with the Abbotsford Cardinals, and my new adventure with the Junior National Team...Besides meeting new people and developing relationships across the globe, the best part about my job is watching young athletes grow and develop into respectable young men...championships are nice too :)...too bad I haven't won any yet! Due time...

Over the next two years, I will be blogging my experiences on a regular basis. Primarily, with the national team. I will post photos, videos, interviews, and much more on this site. I will try and bring you inside coverage on what baseball is like at the national level...Both as a player, and coach...

In the near future, I will set up a link at my website www.sandlotbaseballbc.com so you can easily find my blog and keep up to date with current events at the Sandlot as well.

To all my fellow coaches, friends, family, and students...Thanks for always supporting my programs.Hopefully, we can share and enjoy my experiences together.