Some sports are underway, while others are in the midst of making or changing their structure as they head into the 2017 sports season.

Each summer we take in the Women’s Fast Pitch at Softball City and this past summer was no less exciting, except for some details surrounding the media, but that’s another story for another day!

Moving forward Softball Canada recently announced they have extended the contracts of the Junior Men’s National Team Coaching Staff, which takes them through the next cycle for the ball season.

Jeff Ellsworth will return as Head Coach with Jean-Yves Doucet, Todd McCulloch and Mark Quinn all returning to serve as assistant coaches.

The Coaching Staff led Canada to a Bronze at the 2016 WBSC Junior Men’s World Softball Championship in Midland, Michigan, managing to improve on it’s seventh-place finish at the previous 2014 World Championship in Whitehorse.

“Softball Canada is extremely excited to have such a young and dynamic coaching staff to lead our Junior Men’s National Team into the next cycle” said Mike Branchaud, Softball Canada’s Manager – Men’s National Teams and Canadian Championships. “The teaching capabilities of this group of coaches was brought to the forefront in 2016 and the results clearly indicated they did a tremendous job. We are looking forward to the next cycle and are expecting continual improvements in our Junior Men’s National Team program.”

Jeff Ellsworth

He became the head coach a week prior to the WBSC Junior Men’s World Championship this summer, seamlessly leading the team to a podium result.

His international playing career spans over 10 years beginning in 2006, winning a bronze medal at the 2009 WBSC Men’s World Softball Championship and later winning Gold medals at the 2015 WBSC Men’s World Championship and Pan American Games.

Over the past several years, his passion has turned to coaching, getting his first experience as Head Coach of the Prince Edward Island Women’s Softball Team at the 2009 Canada Summer Games.

He has coached the U16/U18 Scotiabank Reds Women’s Fastpitch Team since 2012, leading them to compete in five Canadian Championships.

Jean-Yves Doucet Doucet

He joined the coaching staff in 2015 after serving as a guest coach and scout with the Junior Men’s National Team in 2014.

He has international coaching experience in France, serving as an assistant coach of their U22 Junior Women’s National Team at the 2008 European Championship and as a consultant in 2002.

Doucet has been instrumental in building the men’s fast-pitch program in St-Leonard-d’Aston, QC and in the province of Quebec.

He has been the Head Coach of the St-Leonard-d’Aston Express since 1993, and has represented Quebec as Head Coach of their men’s teams at 13 Canadian Championships (Gold in 2000, 2013 and 2016; bronze in 2006) and three Canada Summer Games (1989 – Silver; 1993 and 2001).

He served as Head Coach of Team Quebec at the 2013 U21 Men’s International Championship and is also the province’s Head Coach for the 2017 Canada Summer Games Men’s Team.

Todd McCulloch was selected to the coaching staff in 2015 and has been a high performance coach in Saskatchewan since 2003 with a focus on hitting and pitching.

He has worked with many individual players and teams to improve their skills with the use of video analysis.

He has coached both men’s and women’s teams, including Team Saskatchewan at the 2007 and 2011 Western Canada Summer Games.

McCulloch coached the University of Regina women’s softball team (2009 to 2011) and has had success coaching various club teams since 2010.

This included a Bronze at the 2010 Junior Women’s Canadian Championship and a pair of Gold medals as an assistant coach at the provincial championships (U18 Men in 2013 and U21 Men in 2014).

He is a CANpitch Master Pitching Instructor since 2012, and became a Master Learning Facilitator in 2014.

Mark Quinn

He was added to the Junior Men’s National Team coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2016 and had a distinguished playing career at the club team level, competing in several Canadian Championships and New Zealand National Championships since 1996.

He began coaching at the U13 level in New Zealand before moving back to PEI in 2008, holding various coaching positions at the Senior Men’s, U21 Men’s, U16 Girls’ and Intermediate School levels.

He was the pitching coach of the 2013 PEI Canada Summer Games Women’s Team, and is currently the Head Coach of the 2017 PEI Canada Summer Games Men’s Team, a group he has been working with since 2014.

He is a Competition – Development: Certified coach, and is also Softball PEI’s Master Learning Facilitator and a Master Pitching Instructor of Softball Canada’s CANpitch program.

It’s reported that the Junior Men’s National Team will hold open evaluation camps in the summer of 2017.

From there the coaching staff will then select an athlete pool who will be provided with an off-season fitness and conditioning program.

A selection camp will take place to determine the final roster that will compete at the 2018 WBSC Junior Men’s World Softball Championship in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Thanks to Gilles LeBlanc – Manager – Marketing/Communications for Softball Canada.