NORTH SHORE TWINS COACHING STAFF

In 2015, his 13th season with the North Shore Twins Baseball Club, Coach Haar returns to the helm of the Premier Twins as Head Coach and, as Director of Baseball Operations & Player Development, his influence will continue to drive all three teams.

As Premier Twins Head Coach in past years, Haar led the team to five consecutive BCPBL Final 4 appearances and three consecutive Provincial Championships (2007 to 2009). In addition, he was Head Coach to Team BC (17U BC Selects) when they took gold at the 2007 Canada Cup and silver in 2008.

His winning approach to the game and teaching philosophy come from three decades of high-level baseball experience. Haar first broke onto the Canadian sports scene as an all-around athlete at the UBC Sports Hall of Fame. A standout in soccer, football and baseball, he was Varsity Athlete of the Year in 1968, and inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Haar has worked with many of the game's greatest players as a player and coach. His professional playing career spanned several years in the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants organizations. He served as guest coach with the Toronto Blue Jays. And Haar led Canada’s national teams on numerous occasions as a coach and manager, including three years each with the Canadian National and Canadian National Youth Teams as head coach.

In 1991 Haar led Canada to its first and only World Championship when the Canadian National Youth Team, with future major leaguers Stubby Clapp and Jason Dickson on the roster, beat perennial powerhouses Cuba, the USA and Chinese Taipei to capture the world title. Haar was named Canada’s Coach of the Year in 1991 and the International Baseball Federation’s top coach in 1992, and he and the entire team were inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Haar was also the main force behind Canada’s National Baseball Institute (NBI). As head coach at the NBI for 14 years (1986-1999), he directed the program that has been the single most prolific developer of premier Canadian baseball talent. In a ceremony at St Marys, Ontario during the summer of 2007 Haar, alongside Sparky Anderson of Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers fame, was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to baseball in Canada.

John’s tremendous passion for the game and wealth of knowledge, including and beyond baseball, are the building blocks of the current North Shore Twins program.

McNiven was drafted in the 46th round of the 1999 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays; he chose not to sign. Instead, McNiven attended UBC and played for the Thunderbirds where, in his Senior year, 2003, he was named NAIA region 1 player of the year.

In 2003 McNiven was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round. He signed and played with the Giants, playing as high as AAA, for seven seasons.

McNiven had the honor of playing for the Canadian National Team a number of times including the 2008 Beijing Olympics! He pitched for Canada at the 2007 and 2009 World Cups, winning a bronze medal in 2009, as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Since retiring from playing, McNiven has focused on coahing. He was the pitching coach with Douglas College from 2009-2011 and joined the North Shore Twins in 2010. In the fall of 2011 he was named Director of Baseball at Inside Performance, and since the fall of 2012 he's headed up the West Vancouver Baseball Academy.

McNiven grew up in Vernon, BC. He graduated from UBC with a Degree in Human Kinetics, and later earned his Bachelor of Education at SFU.

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