Tag: development

Great Lake Canadians looking to build off of a successful CPBL campaign

Coming off of an incredibly successful season, with three Canadian Premier Baseball League championships and two tournament victories south of the border, the Great Lake Canadians organization is looking for much of the same and more as it heads into the fourth year of the circuit.

Taking the trophies for the second-straight year at the 14U, 15U and 18U levels of the CPBL, the Canadians added a 16U tournament win at the Kent State Invitational and an 18U victory at the Gene Bennett Classic, and all the while maintained the program’s focus on continued development and the progress of its players.

“It was a good year for us,” GLC director of baseball operations Chris Robinson said. “We were happy with how things went on and off the field. We continue to send guys off to school – some big schools and some good fits – and obviously on the field we had some success with three championships.

“We don’t ever really evaluate our success on winning championships but there’s something to be said for as you develop players, you want to develop the winning mentality. So we were really happy with how that went this year.”

Among the accomplishments of the program during the year, the highlight of last season for many of those involved with the organization was in seeing the success of the 18U squad and the season it was able to put together.

“We had some success down in the States, and throughout the league, we all talk collectively about how the league and the competition up here helps our success in the States,” Robinson said. “But we had a very, very special group of older guys this year. Not to take away from any of the other groups we’ve had but it was a very special group and a group that you might not see for a long time.

“It was the way they were wired, the way they went about their business, and obviously they were dominant on the field as well. So that for us was a real fun year, to watch those guys at the back end of their careers here with us, doing what they did.”

As the season came to an end, the Canadians planned their inaugural banquet – featuring ESPN and Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Dan Shulman as the master of ceremonies, and with multiple big-league players including Pete Orr, Jamie Romak and GLC coaches Robinson and Adam Stern in attendance to honour the players – to open up the off-season before beginning another winter of development-focused training to gear up for the fourth CPBL season.

“Our first banquet was a success, and a really cool night as a staff to celebrate what the program has done,” Robinson said. “The off-season is status quo for us and it continues to be that way. We remind ourselves that there are no gimmicks, there’s no special pill, and it’s just a matter of continuing to develop players as we have in the past. That’s always at the forefront of our minds heading into any off-season.”

With another season about to get underway, Great Lake’s staff is excited for what the future holds and to see how the fourth year of the league unfolds on the field.

“I always like watching the kids develop from year to year,” Robinson said. “And now that we’ve been in it, we’ve seen our first group graduating college last year, and now you see the progression of kids over that course of the year.

“We have a really exciting group of 14U players this year, and we’ve always had good players at that younger level. This year, athletically it may be one of the more highly-anticipated groups we’ve ever had. We look forward to having athletes because we believe so strongly in what we do on the developmental side. So that will be a really fun group to get going and see how they progress, along with the rest of our teams and more familiar players.”

Great Lake also has a number of players committed to head to schools for the upcoming season, with Ryan Faragher off to Wabash Valley College, Noah Myers heading from Wabash to the University of South Carolina, Owen Diodati going to the University of Alabama, Tye Imeson off to Salem International University, Brian Zapp heading to Miami University and Eric Martin headed to Indiana State University.

GLC staff gets stronger with addition of Jon Fitzsimmons

LONDON, Ontario – As the season approaches and each of the Great Lake Canadians players and teams continue to grow stronger, the organization’s coaching staff has also done the same.

Bringing another exciting and experienced local player to the fold, the Canadians welcome the addition of Jon Fitzsimmons as a roving pitching instructor to the program. The 26-year-old right-hander not only grew up in London and knows the local landscape of the game, but he brings his experiences from Division-I baseball, playing in the minor leagues with three different organizations as well as in the Can Am League, and winning multiple championships along the way.

“When you can add someone of Jon’s calibre who has played the game at the level he’s played, it’s a great addition to the stable of coaches that we have,” GLC director of baseball operations Chris Robinson said. “We’re excited to have him, and being around him for the last couple of years in the off-season and watching him work, it’s great to bring on a guy who we know works the way he does. Obviously he was committed to his playing career, and now to coaching, and it’s going to be exciting to have him around and really have him sink his teeth into this.”

Fitzsimmons spent three years at Canisius College – one alongside fellow GLC staffer Shane Davis – setting numerous records in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, winning the program’s first MAAC championship, and growing as a hurler, before signing as a free agent with the Royals after his junior year. From there, he played up to Double-A, with a career ERA of 3.87 over more than 160 innings, before heading to the coaching side of the game.

“With Jon’s familiarity with us and what we’re trying to accomplish as a program at the amateur level, he has a lot to add,” GLC pitching coordinator Adam Arnold said. “He provides a lot of experience, and for a guy who’s been able to go through it firsthand, it’s a bonus for us…Jon brings a passion and work ethic that stand out, and he understands what it means to be a Canadian baseball player from your local centre. To be a part of it, and to pass on the knowledge and the experiences he went through, that’s pretty special on it’s own.”

Many of the Great Lake staff members had their first experience with Fitzsimmons as he was trying to forge his way further into the game, and are excited to work with him on the other side of things going forward.

“The chance to bring on Jon Fitzsimmons was a great opportunity for not only the organization, but it’s a great fit for everybody,” GLC director of player development Adam Stern said. “He’s going to be focusing on the 16U to 18U level with the pitchers, and he’s a guy who has come full circle.

“The first year we opened up Centrefield, Fitzy was one of the first guys who came in and was in pitching classes, so having him come on board is a great example of what we have here. The kids in the system now can look to that. He’s been through it and had a great career to date, being able to go to college at a four-year school, have a great career and go off into professional baseball and get to Double-A, that’s a huge accomplishment. Bringing him on board is a huge win for the program.”

Learning from a number of the coaches he will now work alongside, the right-hander looked up to them, and couldn’t be more elated to be a part of what they’re doing now.

“It’s really exciting for me to join them, because these are guys that I’ve looked up to growing up,” Fitzsimmons said. “They’re the guys who actually taught me a lot about the game. They were teaching me when I grew up, and a lot of us always aspired to do what they were doing. So to be able to contribute to a program like this, with such a high calibre of coaching staff, with guys who have played at such a high level and have such high-level knowledge, it’s humbling for me to be able to join them.”

Happy to be back at home in London, Fitzsimmons is looking forward to contributing to the game and its development in the area where he first experienced it.

“Growing up here and playing baseball here, it’s really nice to finally be able to give back to the community here,” Fitzsimmons said. “We’ve had such a long history of baseball players coming out of London, who have played at a very high level, and it’s nice to be able to hopefully continue that process and be a part of it…

“Staying around the game of baseball is exciting for me. And knowing that when I was younger, a lot of coaches I had were really inspiring and made me enjoy the game a lot more than maybe I would have with someone who wasn’t as knowledgable or as excited to be there, I want to try to provide that experience for some of the kids here.”

Bringing in another successful and high-level player from the area to add to an already impressive coaching staff is something that the Canadians take pride in, and are excited to offer to the players within the program.

“This is our bread and butter,” Stern said. “We really put a lot of pride into the guys we have coaching in this program. It adds to the credibility and shows that the guys here really do want to give back to the game. Adding another piece like Jon is great for the development of players. He’s another example for these kids to look in the mirror and see the products that do come from not only London, but all over southwestern Ontario. A separator for our program is the guys we have involved.”

The addition of Fitzsimmons is representative of what has already been built by the Great Lake staff, and what more is to come for the elite amateur program.

“Having Jon join our staff, being from London and with the experience he brings, is a product of what has been built here, both on the Centrefield side and then on the Great Lake side,” Robinson said. “The amateur baseball world is difficult to navigate for players and families, with so much out there in camps, showcases, recruiting services, and all of the other options available through email, social media, and everywhere you look.

“Our philosophy has always been to create an environment where kids can come to get better at playing baseball. No gimmicks, no shortcuts – it’s about surrounding our players with a staff that will help them get to the next level. The most important thing in amateur baseball is preparing for the next level, and the addition of Jon is another tremendous resource for our players to use. He’s someone who has been where they want to go, and has gone through the process they’re in the midst of.”