Coaching Staff

2021

Jeremy Uylenbroek

18u Head Coach

Jeremy has an impressive report card, playing with IBL Barrie Baycats for 5 seasons, a three-time all-star with the Brantford Red Sox, 19 seasons with Ivy Leafs and continuously nominated for the Allstar tittle.

Jeremy’s coaching background ranges with the Central Ontario Reds, 2 seasons with the Fergie Jenkins Showcase League, 13 and 14 summer/winter development teams and Ontario Athletics, working with 12, 14, 16 and 18 u programs.

Currently, he is working with the 18u division with the Titans.

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Alex Crocco

18u Assistant Coach

Alex Crocco, a Canadian championship catcher with the Vaughan Vikings in 2010, has joined the 18U Titans as an assistant coach for the 2020-21 season.

Alex’s York-Simcoe playing career featured three years with Vaughan AAA where he won the Canadian national championship in 2010; he was an outstanding catcher with the Richmond Hill AAA Phoenix for five years. Alex also captained the St Michael’s College School’s senior varsity team in the CISAA high school baseball league. He was an excellent-student athlete as St. Michael's College School, where he achieved Ontario Scholar status in 2013.

Alex earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts at University of Toronto (2018) and is currently completing his teaching degree at Nipissing University where he earned his Bachelor of Education in 2020. Alex’s aspirations to be a high school teacher have a sound foundation in that he has four years of teaching/tutoring experience as well as four years of coaching experience. Alex has run

1-on-1 instruction, skill-specific clinics, team workouts, and camps while coaching the Thornhill AAA Peewee Reds and the Newmarket 15U Elite Hawks.

Alex’s coaching specialties include catching, hitting, and flexibility. He shares a special relationship with his cousin-- national baseball hero Pete Orr who has 8 years of major league experience. Alex is a student of the game and has learned very much from Orr about hitting and the baseball life. Alex’s interpersonal skills are excellent as his patient and compassionate approach to coaching will yield terrific results from our Titans players. Ever the teacher, Alex has the great ability to differentiate his instruction according to the player's specific needs and learning style—a tried and true twenty-first century approach to teaching and coaching.

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Alex Stewart

18u Assistant Coach

Alex joins the Titans Baseball Club as an assistant coach on the 18U squad. Alex played high performance baseball for 15 years as a pitcher, infielder, and outfielder; eventually center field became his premier position. In addition, Alex also starred as a track and field athlete, which brought him to Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa on an athletic scholarship.

As a 3-time Heart of America Athletic Conference gold medalist (2010-12) and 4-time NAIA National Championship qualifier (2009-12), Alex brings a winning attitude and high expectations for Titans athletes as one the organization’s Strength and Conditioning Coordinators. With a Bachelor of Health alongside a minor in fitness leadership, his passion for strength training evolved. As a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), Alex’s high attention to detail with respect to movement quality combined with an understanding of the demands of the sport-specific programming not only challenges our Titans athletes but also instills the confidence needed for them to be successful. Alex’s personal training background and Health Sciences degree from Graceland University (2012) contribute to the personal and physical growth of the Titans Baseball Club’s players. Alex starred as a track and field athlete and baseball player throughout high school at Cardinal Carter CHS in Aurora; he played centerfield and pitched for four consecutive YSBA AAA championship teams in Newmarket and Aurora from 2004-2007. Winning the Ontario Summer Games Gold Medal with the YSBA All-Stars and winning the silver medal at the Canadian Midget Eliminations were two highlights of his baseball playing career in Ontario.

Alex joined Team Ontario’s coaching staff in 2015 after coaching the Ontario Athletics of the Fergie Jenkins League and St. Theresa of Lisieux Lions of the York Region Athletic Association. Alex’s five years of coaching in the CPBL with Team Ontario’s 14U, 15U, 16U, and 18U squads will be beneficial as the Titans transition into Ontario’s top youth baseball league.

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Lawrence Vera

17u Head Coach

Phone(705) 791-5504

Emailinfo@titansbaseball.ca

As a Fanshawe graduate for Police Foundations, Lawrence enters his 11th year as a coach and has taken his passion for baseball to the next level by starting the Titans Baseball Club. With his 5 years of dedication to Ontario Athletics 2018 FJSL Champs and previously, 5 years with Barrie Minor Baseball AAA; there’s no doubt Lawrence has the knowledge of which elements it’ll take to develop athletes into champions.

Being a 4x GBSSA Champion with Innisdale High School, Lawrence was recruited by Niagara County Community College. In 2 years working as a Recruitment Coordinator, 15 athletes are grateful to continue their dreams of playing baseball recruited by post secondary schools under Lawrence’s watch.

“The Titans shouldn’t be an Athletes end game. I want it to be the beginning of their successful career.” - LV.

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Denis Bailey

17u Associate Head Coach

Denis joins the Titans Baseball Club as the Associate Head Coach of the 17U squad and brings a wealth of CPBL and IBL coaching experience to our organization. Based on his experience as a PBR Ontario Scout and his hand in developing MLB draft picks over the course of his coaching career, Denis will also assist Lawrence Vera with placement of College players. Denis’s work with the CPBL Toronto Mets was wide-ranging, including his role as 14u Toronto Mets Field Manager and Program Catching Instructor in 2019. He also attended the Mets’ Fall College Trip as the Third Base Coach in 2019. In 2020, he was the 18U Mets Assistant Coach, 3rd Base Coach, and Program Catching Instructor. Prior to his work with the Toronto Mets, he was the 10U Fieldhouse Pirates Field Manager and worked extensively with this CPBL organization’s development program.

From 2015 to 2017, he coached Third Base and was the bench coach for the Kitchener Panthers of the Intercounty Baseball League. While with the IBL Panthers, he coached Frank Camillo Morejon, Yorbis Borroto, Noelvis Entenza, and Yulexis La Rosa (Cuban National Team Members) as well as Daniel Procopio who was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels. While in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, Denis also served at the 3rd Base Coach and Catching Instructor in 2015 and 2016 with the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks of the OUA.

In 2014, Denis served the Burlington Bandits Intercounty Baseball League organization as their 3rd Base Coach and Bench Coach where he coached JD Osborne who was drafted by the Miami Marlins. In 2012 and 2013 with the North York Blues, he was the team’s 21U Field Manager and coached Jordan Romano of the MLB Toronto Blue Jays. Denis also coached the East York Bulldogs 21U club from 2008-2011 where he coached Jeff Gibbs who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Denis played his US College baseball at Genesee Community College in New York where he was a catcher.

Denis’s rich coaching history, his development of MLB and College draft picks, and his US College catching experiences make him a valuable resource for the Titans Baseball Club. Welcome, Coach Bailey, to the Titans.

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John-Michael Tashos

17u Assistant Coach

John Michael joins the Titans Baseball Club as a 17U Assistant Coach and brings with him a rich background both as a player and coach. Coach Tashos played for the OBA AAA Finalist Vaughan Vikings in 2006 and 2007. After 6 years with the AAA Thornhill Reds (2007-2013), he helped lead the Richmond Hill Phoenix to the OBA AAA Finals from 2013-2016. Coach Tashos starred for the York University Lions of the OUA.

Following his graduation from York University, John Michael served as the AAA Thornhill Reds Minor Bantam Assistant Coach in 2016. He joined the Team Ontario Astros of the CPBL later that year as a Hitting Instructor (2016-2019) and then served as an Assistant coach with the 15U and 17U Astros in 2018 and 2019, respectively. He also worked as the Head Development Instructor in 2019. Coach Tashos’s specialty is hitting and his background reflects this wide experience including the following: NCAA Division I/II Hitting Clinic Instructor (2015-2019); Matt Kennedy Clinic (St. Leo’s) (2016-2018); Matt Kennedy Clinic (Butler) (2019); Turtle Thomas Clinic (FIU) (2016); and Lou Prioretti Clinic (Rider University) (2015).

Additionally, John Michael served as an Assistant Coach with the Holy Cross Hawks Baseball Club of the YRAA in 2013 and 2017; he returned to his alma mater in 2018 and was an Assistant Coach with the York University Lions in 2018.

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Jesse Barker

16u Head Coach

Jesse is our residential Ontario Eliminations Silver Medalist and a two time YSBA All Star. He’s played for the Newmarket Hawks AAA and Newmarket Express OSBA. He was the MVP of his Junior and Senior year for Cardinal Carter Highschool and offered scholarships to multiple junior colleges in the United States, Guelph University and Fanshawe College.

Currently, Jesse is the owner of JPB Landscaping and still understands the value of education, working his way towards an Ontario Mortgage License. Along his personal growth, Jesse has devoted his talents to the Titans and is ready to share his knowledge with other Athletes.

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Paul Barker

16u Assistant Coach

Paul Barker joins the Titans Baseball Club as an assistant coach for our 16U team. Paul has a rich history as a U.S. Little Leaguer where he pitched and played shortstop for four years for the Exchange men’s club in the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut. He won two regional championships and was a member of the Town’s all-star team twice at ages 11 and 12. Paul lost in the New England state finals as a member of the Wethersfield all-star team in his final year in the Little League World Series playoffs. In the U.S. Babe Ruth League, Paul pitched and played shortstop for one season before the Barker family moved to Toronto.

The scope of Coach Barker’s coaching experiences is very wide, ranging from coaching Girls High School Basketball while in High School to Men’s Inter-faculty Basketball at University of Toronto to Aurora Soccer (two seasons --U6 and U5), and finally to Aurora Baseball where he coached multiple house league championship teams and moved to the Rep level where he served as the Aurora Jays AA Head Coach of the Mosquito, Peewee, and Bantam teams.

Paul is a multisport athlete and in addition to baseball, he also played competitive football and basketball in youth leagues, High School, and University. He played lacrosse in High School and won 3 North York Championships. As a veteran coach who has played baseball in the USA and coached extensively in Ontario, Coach Parker has been impressed with “the entire Titans organization. The most impressive part of Fall Ball 2020 has been watching the incredible improvement and development of the entire 16U team in just 6 short weeks. Not only have I seen this in the skill level, but in each player’s self-confidence and self-esteem. I look forward to the strength and training part of the program and getting back onto the field next spring with the Titans 16U team.”

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TBA

16u Assistant Coach

John Bethune

15u Head Coach

After graduation, with a successful career as a student-athlete at Seneca College for the Sting Baseball Program from 2016-2018, John pursued a Coaching and Recruiting position with the Seneca College Men’s Baseball Team.

As a Coach, John has been the Assistant Coach for Newmarket Hawks AAA Bantam, North York Blues AAA, Keswick High School, Mississauga Twins AAA Bantam and the owner/ Head Coach of Baseball North Academy.

As a player, John’s season with the Toronto Mets Elite Baseball Organization (RF/RHP) led to athletic scholarship offers to Midland College (Texas), Husson University (Maine), Prince George’s Community College (Largo, Maryland), and St. Clair College (Windsor, ON) as an outfielder.

John was also offered a semi-pro contract from the Hoofddorp Pioniers of the Netherlands Professional Baseball League, where he was scouted as a third baseman and shortstop.

Now, John is a Child and Youth Care Practitioner, ready to share his experience with our Titans.

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Brayden Byers

15u Assistant Coach

Nick Dimfel

15u Assistant Coach

Nick joins the Titans 15U coaching staff as an assistant coach after a stellar playing career in which he was OBA Player of the Year and YSBA Player of the Year as a hard-hitting catcher for the Richmond Hill Phoenix. Nick’s Richmond Hill team won the YSBA championship three times and the OBA Championship once.

After his successful rep AAA career with the Phoenix, Nick attended Northeastern Junior College, a Division 1 school in Sterling, Colorado where he was a two-year starter and hit for power and average as Northeastern’s everyday catcher. One of his college highlights at Northeastern was hitting a walk-off home run to help his team capture the Division 9 title. While representing Canada as one the team’s catchers, Nick was named to the Oklahoma Sunbelt National Team. As an underage 16U catcher, Nick represented Ontario in the 18U Canada Cup in 2010. Nick fared well in the national tournament as he won Game MVP versus British Columbia and Ontario captured the gold medal. Nick completed his playing career after college by playing Junior Ball for the Richmond Hill Phoenix and transitioned to coaching with the Richmond Hill Phoenix Peewee AAA team.

After two years of coaching the Phoenix’s AAA Peewee squad, Nick was hired to pilot Team Ontario’s first 14U team in the CPBL. He believes that player development is critical to the Titans Baseball Club’s success as an organization and enjoys molding the 14U players, especially their approaches at the plate and behind the plate. Nick’s catching prowess and exemplary power hitting are two assets for the Titans Baseball Club’s expanding growing program as it joins the CPBL. Welcome to the Titans, Coach Dimpfel.

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