WINTERBALL 2010 INSTRUCTORS – RICHMOND OVAL TRAINING
While a “Full Baseball / Softball Training Center” @ the Richmond Oval could still be years away, there are those believers amongst us that are willing to “step up to the plate”. This initial effort – powered by Richmond City Baseball and the “The Dugout Club” – will hopefully pave the way for countless numbers of “Diamond” fans to enjoy the legacy of this “World Class Award Winning Facility” for years to come. Not only for diamond training, but for all the amenities the Oval has to offer. (Memberships may be available at a “Group Discount” rate.)
The intention of the group is to start out with the younger ages (9-12) on available SUNDAY NIGHTS (Space is limited). Pursuant to that, we’ll see where the interest and capabilities of the facility lies as far as opening up some opportunities to the older groups. (13 – ?)
Critical to our effort was finding instructors whom not only knew the game, but were solid believers in positive reinforcement and developmentally appropriate practices.
Instructors
Derran Watts developed a love for baseball growing up in Brampton, ON during the heydays of the Toronto Blue Jays. He later enrolled at the University of British Columbia as a student-athlete and, after playing for two years, was drafted by the New York Mets. Watts played minor league baseball in the Mets organization for five seasons.
Throughout his career, Watts took as much pride in his community involvement as he did in his on-field efforts, so when he retired and returned to UBC to complete his degree, he continued to be involved in the community. Coaching was a natural fit for Derran who will handle the hitting and fielding efforts for our group.
Jeff Zeilstra began his coaching career in the PBL with the White Rock Tritons in 2003 before pursuing other opportunities to grow the game of baseball overseas. After working as a Major League Baseball (MLB) Envoy coach in Europe in 2005 he took a job as the Head Coach of the men’s national team where he led the team to a 5th place finish at the Olympic Qualification tournament in Spain. More recently, Jeff acted as the pitching coach for the DC Baseball Royals for two seasons while working full-time with VANOC (2010 Olympic Winter Games) as well as the pitching coach and advisor for the French national team. In between he’s also worked as an associate scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates and has been involved in various development programs for amateur baseball both locally and internationally.
As a player, Jeff attended Treasure Valley C.C. He went on to graduate from U.B.C with honors with a Bachelors Degree in Human Kinetics.
Josh Ridgway, much like “Elvis”, has left the building (and moved to the Caribbean…..We’ve made him a promise that we’d always keep at least ONE “soft toss” station open for him to return to!!
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