The Whalley Chiefs are tapping into their past in an effort to move into the future.
The B.C. Premier Baseball League club has a new coaching staff loaded with old, familiar faces who have returned to help restore some of the club's former luster.
The Chiefs coaching staff is led by a three-headed monster of Whalley baseball experience in Cole Armstrong, Drew Parker and Ryan Pilgrim. All three played for the Chiefs while in high school before moving on to college and pro careers.
"Growing up, I played against Ryan when he was with Maple Ridge so kind of got to know each other when we were in peewee and bantam," Parker recalled. "After that we played on the Chiefs together and then later with Team Canada. Cole is a little older than us, but I remember he would come back from college or wherever he was and he would always work out with the Chiefs. He went to Chipola with Adam Loewen for college, and 10 years later he helped me get in there. So we've all known each other for a while."
Armstrong is definitely the grey beard of the group. Now 30, the former catcher brings a wealth of experience to the Chiefs at both the college, minor pro and national team levels.
After stops at the University of Kansas and Chipola College, Armstrong embarked on a Crash Davis-style 11-year tour of baseball's minor leagues. His stops included Orlando, Danville (Virginia), Rome (Georgia), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Birmingham (Alabama), Charlotte (North Carolina), Salt Lake City,
New Orleans, and Wichita (Kansas). All of that plus three seasons of winter ball spent criss-crossing Latin America. He also suited up with Canada's national team on several occasions, winning a gold medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games and a bronze medal in the 2009 Baseball World Cup.
"I played 11 years in the minors so I guess you could say I've learned some things," he said. "For me, I'm at the point now where I've had my run at it and I've been able to see and play at lot of different places. At the premier league level, the kids obviously have aspirations to play at the next level - college or the pros - and anything I can do to be around and guide them on that journey, I'm happy to do it.
"I kind of see it now as the reason I went through all those experiences is that now that it's all said and done, I can come back and help guys avoid some of the mistakes that I made and help them attain the goals that they have."
Parker, 26, is a former pitcher who played for Canada's junior national team and later had stops at Brewton College and Chipola College before injuries ended his pro baseball dreams.
Pilgrim, an infielder in his playing days, attended Central Arizona College before wrapping up his college career at UBC where also served as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff.
Together, the trio brings a wealth of baseball experience at several key positions back to the Chiefs to help guide the club's next generation of players.
"It's always good when you can help kids out - especially in a program that you played in," Parker said. "That's a big plus for me. We're just helping the kids achieve their goals, whether it's getting to colleges down in the States or continuing on their baseball career wherever it's going to go. I want to help them that way plus help them just learn the game a little bit more."
The biggest asset the three former Chiefs bring to the clubhouse is the variety of skills in which they can offer hands-on instruction to the young players. Parker knows pitching, Armstrong catching and Pilgrim fielding.
"Cole is a catcher and he had a long career in minor league baseball so he's seen a lot of baseball," Parker said. "He's absorbed a lot of information wherever he's gone. Ryan was a fielder so he knows that, and both he and Cole were hitters so they can handle that. I was a pitcher so I didn't do much hitting."
He paused and added with a laugh, "I was good at bunting."
Armstrong agrees the three skill sets presented by the new coaching staff is ideal for developing young talents. He said finding one coach with college or pro experience can be difficult, so to have three former players with a variety of skills is a huge bonus.
"It's a hard thing to find guys who have different skill sets coaching youth baseball," Armstrong said. "Actually, having guys like Drew and Ryan helps take the pressure off me. I've played a little bit of first base, but I'm definitely not the guy to go out and try and teach our middle infielders how to turn a double play. I just don't have that kind
of experience.
"We have a really good situation where the coaches have the expertise to help kids in their particular skill areas."
The Chiefs coaching staff has been working together since Armstrong hung up his mitt and returned to Surrey in December. Opening day won't arrive until April 12, but the Chiefs have been busy working out up to four times per week.
Live game action is still weeks away, but Armstrong is already excited about the progress he has seen in the Chiefs' players.
"It's been great so far," he said. "We've been working out four days a week since before Christmas and the amount of work these kids are putting in is awesome. We try and drive home to the kids that if they want to get to the next level, they can't just do it once or twice a week and expect to be good. The off-season program the Chiefs has been really beneficial for all the kids.
"It's fun to see little things that we taught them five or six weeks ago come together and to see the kids improving from week to week. The kids might not see it, but as coaches we do."