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THE 2015 NORTH SHORE JUNIOR TWINS

2015 SEASON OUTLOOK

The 2015 version of the North Shore Junior Twins, like every other baseball team at this time of year, is very optimistic about the upcoming season. With back-to-back trips to the Provincial Championship game, the Jr Twins look to carry on their winning tradition. In fact, the Jr Twins will host the BCJPBL Provincial Championship Tournament at Parkgate this year; the park has received a new infield in preparation for the big event.

Five returning players will anchor the Jr Twins roster. Jack DeCooman, Brandan Kingsbury and Kazuki Nakamura are back to toe the slab among a deep pitching staff that also features Prep Twins graduates Alan Selman-Branston and Cortez D’Alessandro. New faces Sam Shoemaker, Robert Mackie, Blake Reid and Thomas Hemer will get lots of opportunity on the mound and mix in around the infield. Cole Dalla Zanna, back after a year's hiatus from the Twins program, will contribute from both the pitching mound and the outfield. Finally Thomas Neal and Tim Walters will round out the main contributors to the pitching rotation while maintaining their versatility as dual guys with time in the Jr Twins outfield.

Grade 9s Brandon Hupe and Dion Wintjes will control the game from behind the dish and chip in with key roles in the hitting game; Wintjes will also play the left side of the infield and Hupe is an outfielder. Alec Cumming will see plenty of innings in the middle infield all year, along with utility player Matteo Porcellato; both are grads of the Prep Twins.

Marshall Hogan and Carson Ho, the final members of last year's Jr Twins squad, round out the 2015 roster. Hogan is a defensive specialist at one-bag and brings a solid bat to the middle of the order, while Ho is a pure outfielder who platooned in center last year and will look to lead the team with quality at bats at the top of the order.

Parker Kynoch, Sean O’Neill, Dave Speers and Steven Roller are the constants among the Jr Twins coaching staff, and Twins alumni Liam Foran & Matt Council will be nice additions. This is a solid group of baseball guys who also value having a good time at the yard; easy to do given the gorgeous atmosphere up at Parkgate.

About the North Shore Junior Twins

North Shore Twins has been the top program for elite 16- to 18-year-old baseball players on Vancouver's North Shore since 1990. In more recent years the program has expanded to include teams for younger players as well: North Shore Junior Twins and North Shore Prep Twins. The three teams now comprise the North Shore Twins Baseball Club, which is operated by coaches with professional and/or college baseball credentials and dedicated volunteers. The club is based at Parkgate Park in North Vancouver, BC.

The Twins program strives to produce not only top quality baseball players, but also respectful and respected individuals by instilling the principles of sportsmanship, teamwork, honesty, and work ethic. In addition, it places a high priority on academics and emphasizes that school performance is a critical component in each player’s development.

The North Shore Junior Twins is a member of the prestigious British Columbia Junior Premier Baseball League ("BCJPBL"), a wood bat league for players aged 14 to 16 made up of eleven (11) clubs that are based across southern BC, specifically the North Shore, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, Kelowna, Langley, Nanaimo, North Delta, Victoria (2 teams), Whalley, and White Rock. The Jr Twins play approximately 80 to 90 games per season including league games and tournaments throughout British Columbia and the US.

The Junior Twins' roster is primarily made up of North Shore players, with others from across the Lower Mainland choosing to join the program. Players are selected for their ability, commitment and desire to ultimately compete at the college or professional level. The program aims to provide the environment, guidance and skills—physical, mental and emotional included—that will allow these dedicated baseball players to reach for their dreams.

Since its inception the North Shore Twins Baseball Club has been highly successful in meeting its goals. Under a series of Head Coaches including Buff Schemmer, Dave Empey, Canadian-Hall-of-Famer John Haar (he heads up the North Shore Twins Baseball Club and has returned to the Head Coach position after a period with the Prep Twins), Jordan Wilson, Larson Bauck, many of its graduates have been able to play baseball while pursuing their post-secondary academics at US and Canadian colleges and universities thanks to athletic and academic scholarships and other financial assistance. In addition, fourteen Twins have been drafted into professional baseball. The team’s most famous draftee is Gibson’s Ryan Dempster, and the most recent is Lachlan Fontaine, drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2013.