The 5th Annual 2017 Toronto Blue Jays National Coaches Clinic lived up to its hype. 500 coaches from all across North America came to the Rogers Centre, on February 10-12, 2017 for presentations with Blue Jay alumni, as well as, some of North America's top baseball minds. Coaches participated in on field drills, a clubhouse tour, trade show on the 100 level concourse, coaches panel and a coaches social.
Speakers: Jeff Francis – 12 year MLB alum, gold medalist at 2015 Pan Am Games, 2nd highest drafted Canadian of all time.
Garth Iorg – 9 year MLB alum, 5 years MLB Coaches experience and presently heavy active with MLB International’s instructional camps and clinics. Matt Kata – 6 year MLB alum, attended Vanderbilt University, and is currently Manager, Youth Baseball with the Cleveland Indians. Jeff Krushell – Owns and operates Krush Performance, strength & conditioning coach, Baseball Canada, former strength and conditioning coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. Lloyd Moseby – 10 year MLB alum, 5 years’ experience Coaches at the minor/major league level. Lloyd is currently a driving force for the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Academy. Pete Orr – 7 year MLB alum, gold medalist at 2015 Pan Am Games and was recently hired by the Milwaukee Brewers as a pro scout. Chris Robinson – MLB alum, has represented Canada at the Pan Am Games, World Baseball Classic, World Cup and Olympics. Currently a coach with Canada’s Jr National team. Lisa Veloce – A mental performance consultant and professional member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association with extensive experience as both a coach and an athlete for over 20 years. Duane Ward – 10 year MLB alum, 125 career saves, two time World Series Champion and is currently a driving force of the Blue Jays Baseball Academy. Devon White – 17 year MLB alum, 6 years’ experience as an outfield/base running coordinator for 2 MLB organizations and he was just recently named hitting coach for the Blue Jays AA affiliate. Kevin Wilson – USA Baseball Alum, hitting consultant currently working with Minor and Major League players from 20 different MLB organizations.
Also offered was a four hour NCCP module. Launched in 1974, the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) is the Coaches Association of Canada’s flagship program, and has been identified as a world leader in coach education. It is currently the largest adult continuing education program in Canada. The NCCP gives coaches the confidence to succeed and is designed & delivered in partnership with the government of Canada, provincial/territorial governments,and national/provincial/territorial sport organizations. In order for NCCP coaches to maintain their certified status, they will be required to obtain Professional Development (PD) points. PD points can be earned through a multitude of activities that coaches already participate in, including: national and provincial sport organization conferences and workshops, eLearning modules, NCCP workshops, coach mentorship programs, and active coaching. In most cases coaches are already earning their required PD points -- Maintenance of Certification Status is simply the introduction of tracking these points and recognizing coaches for their efforts.
For more information on the National Coaches Certification Program click here. It was truly an honor being at this wonderful event for the third year in a row. Special thank you to Wayne Parro - Senior Coaching Consultant, Advisor and Andre Lachance - Business and Sport Development Director at Baseball Canada.
Registration for the 2018 National Coaches Clinic will take place in the fall of 2017. If you have any questions about the 2018 Coaches Clinic including vendor opportunities and association group bookings please contact the Blue Jays Academy at 416-341-2500 or via email at baseball.academy@bluejays.com, website: Blue Jays Academy
