General Manager's Message
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North Delta Blue Jays 2014 Building Champions General Manager’s Message Have you ever noticed how disappointed and dejected professional athletes are when they lose a championship game? Has the thought ever crossed your mind that they shouldn’t be so upset since they are so well paid? Does it make you wonder what it is about someone who is financially secure that could cause them to so fervently desire to be the champion of their sport? This says a lot about champions and teams that embody a championship culture. Jeff Janssen of the Janssen Sports Leadership Center has spent considerable time looking at college and professional teams to determine just what makes champions. His work shows that players and programs that have championship cultures place a premium on both results and relationships and have a strong sense of mission and purpose. They know exactly what they want to achieve and have a burning desire to achieve it. They are fully designed and aligned to achieve their goals and are focused on them like a laser beam. They have very high standards and expect everyone to honor those standards. Being a champion requires commitment and discipline to hard work and a focus on improving performance. Professional athletes who experience the disappointment of losing do so in part because they are acutely aware of the sacrifice and work needed to compete at the highest levels. Players who are committed to their goals and their team, find it extremely disappointing to let down themselves and their teammates. Unfortunately the idea of competition has been degraded by many in our society. It has been replaced with an entitlement culture where people assume they deserve things without having to work or compete for them. This tends to create unreasonable expectations and makes it difficult for people to assess their strengths and weaknesses and accept responsibility for their actions. Fortunately, sports still provides a place where the benefits of competition can be realized. The Blue Jays remain committed to the concepts embodied by our slogan ‘Building Champions.’ We firmly believe that the effort to develop the behavior and attitude of a champion will greatly improve your chance for success not only on the baseball field, but in all aspects of life as well. Our goal this year is to develop players who are ‘relentless competitors.’ Players who embrace the idea that one does not become a champion in anything without a commitment and discipline to hard work, a desire to constantly improve performance, an allegiance to one’s team and teammates, a respect for the game and an attitude that says I will never give up. On a final note I would like to thank all the many supporters of the Blue Jays, especially our sponsors who have so generously contributed to our program. Also to the parents who volunteer an enormous amount of time to our operations and to providing support and encouragement to our players and coaches. Best wishes to all for a successful 2014 season. Go Jays! Larry Waddell Page 2 www. ndbluejays.com Building Champions 2014 North Delta Blue Jays History of the North Delta Blue Jays 2014 marks the 19th season for the and Brent Crowther as head pitching coach.. 2014 North Delta Blue Jays. Founded sees positive changes with Michael Caleb taking the in 1995 by Bob Burkmar, Mike helm of the Senior squad, and Brad O’Hara taking Kelley and Ari Mellios, the Blue on the Assistant Manager role with the club. Jays have offered high school aged players the opportunity to The Jays have enjoyed considerable success over the years. play competitive baseball against The 1998 club was elected to the Delta Sports Hall of the best players in the lower Fame in 2008 and the club was selected the BCPBL Team mainland and throughout BC and the Pacific Northwest. of the Year in 2010. Along the way many players been helped to achieve their goals of playing baseball in college Originally the Jays played other club teams in the lower or on the professional level. Dozens of players have gone mainland, BC and the states. In 1999 the Jays and other on to play at universities and colleges in Canada and the five lower mainland club teams joined with the six team US. Chase Larsson(2006) received the Tino Martinez award Island Premier Baseball League. The league expanded as the top baseball player in NCAA Div II in 2012. Several to its current 13 team format providing opportunities players have been drafted and have gone on to successful for Junior and Senior aged players and changed its professional careers such as Justin Morneau(1999), Jeff name to the BC Premier Baseball league in 2000. Francis(1999) and James Paxton(2006). Others have had success at the international level including David Van At the conclusion of the 2012 season Bob Burkmar Ostrand (2005) who has played for Team Canada at the retired after 17 years of service with the Blue Jays. World Baseball Championships and the World Baseball Long time pitching coach John McRae also retired. Classic. This year Senior team member Luke Manuel(2013) Larry Waddell took over as General Manager along has been selected to the Canada Junior National Team. with Gerry White as head of the coaching program www. ndbluejays.com Page 3 North Delta Blue Jays 2014 Building Champions Michael Caleb’s Bio and Philosophy #52 | Senior Head Coach | Hometown: Surrey Michael Caleb returns to the North Delta Blue Jays as the Senior Team Head Coach for the 2014 season. Michael is a 2007 alumnus who brings extensive PBL and college experience to the Jays program. Michael’s passion for baseball began at an early age growing up in an apartment complex right next to Unwin Park in Newton. “My older brother played baseball and I was extremely anxious to play. I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me play from practically the moment I could walk,” Michael recalls. In spite of his protestations his career started in T-Ball at age 5. At age 15 Michael left Newton Baseball to join the Blue Jays under Ari Mellios. In those days, there was only one team and the competition was fierce amongst players to make the team and retain their spots. As a first year player, Michael pitched and played second base, moving to third in his second year and finishing off as shortstop in his senior year. Michael had an academic scholarship to UBC and was hoping to join the baseball team as a walk-on. “I was a bit unsure of my future playing competitive baseball,” says Michael. “But then I received a call from the new Douglas College coach Josh Ridgeway. He knew me from the PBL, where he had been the coach of the White Rock Tritons. He convinced me to join the Douglas College Royals.” Michael played for the Royals for two years; in his own words: ‘it was an awesome experience’. His first year at Douglas was interesting, since Ridgeway was a brand-new coach and had very little time to recruit prior to the fall. Coming from a championship team with the Blue Jays, Michael had to learn how to lose. It was a bit chaotic on the team, which was a departure from the structure he was accustomed to with the Blue Jays. After two seasons at Douglas Michael moved on to Campbellsville University in Central Kentucky, where he played and attended school for 2 years. His experience there was completely different, playing on an outstanding team his Junior year. The most important lesson he learned there was how to deal with adversity and manage a tough academic schedule while striving towards becoming an elite athlete. He returned home after graduation and completion of a research project which kept him Kentucky for the following summer. Looking for work, he received a call from then Head Coach, Brad O’Hara, to join the Blue Jays (Sr). team as an assistant coach, which he eagerly took. This fall, he was offered the (Sr). Head Coach position, which gives him the opportunity to help return the Blue Jays organization to the prestigious program it was before – when the Blue Jays were notorious for winning records and championships. Michael feels very strongly that this year’s team is a step in the right direction, and plans on leading the team for years to come to accomplish that goal. “My goal is to help our players learn to be prepared and disciplined, with a good work ethic - that will translate into success on and off the field,” says Michael. A couple of his mantras include controlling what we can control and not sweating the small stuff. “My philosophy is that what the players learn on the field, will prepare them for the next step, whether it is college/university, professional baseball or life; this will be the foundation his players will draw from in their future,” according to Michael. Page 4 www. ndbluejays.com Building Champions 2014 North Delta Blue Jays Mike Hughes’ Bio and Philosophy #39 | Senior Assistant Coach | Hometown: Ladner Mike started his coaching career with the 2007-2008 Ladner Minor Baseball Bantam AAA team as an assistant coach, winning a Provincial Gold Medal (2007), National Silver Medal (2007) and was inducted in the Delta Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 for team of the year honours. In 2009 – 2010 he was the Ladner Minor Baseball Midget AA Head Coach, moving to the BCJPBL North Delta (Jr). Blue Jays in 2011 as an Assistant Coach, winning the BCJPBL Championship.