varsity news

NEWS RELEASE
Durham Lords Media Release
Thursday, June 11, 2009

Lithuania Baseball welcomes Durham College baseball head coach Sam Dempster as first ever MLB Envoy

Lithuania - Durham College men's baseball head coach Sam Dempster is once again on tour throughout Europe this summer promoting and teaching baseball in conjunction with Major League Baseball (MLB). As part of the MLB envoy program, he is trying help the game grow globally, as he is taking his expertise to several countries across Europe.

Introduced in Holland in 1991, the MLB Envoy Program is designed to support growing baseball programs by providing instruction and assistance with coach education, player development and organizational development. During their assignments, Envoy coaches are put to work with teams of all ages and abilities at local baseball clubs, teaching players and coaches, and working with administrators and officials. Envoys are typically tasked with numerous duties that can include developing a youth league, building a field, working out a National team or even umpiring a game. In short, MLB Envoys do whatever is needed to build up the local baseball programs they have been assigned to.

The Envoy Program has sent coaches on more than 700 assignments to more than 60 countries around the world and worked with more than half a million players, coaches and officials.

Dempster's latest stop was in Lithuania, where he became the first ever MLB envoy to visit the country (Photo: Sam with the Secretary of the Lithuanian Baseball Federation) . The Confederation of European Baseball featured the following story on their website:

Sam Dempster, one of MLB's head Envoy Coaches, visited Lithuania for seven days of baseball clinics from May 29th-June 4th. He spent two days in each location coaching and working with baseball coaches and administrators in the cities of Kaunas, Vilnius, and Utena. During his stay, Sam's focus was to give dynamic support and suggestions in youth practices. He introduced new hitting and defensive drills, gave instruction on technique, as well as found time to see some of Lithuania's tourist sites including the lakes of Aukstaitija, Trakei Castle, and Vilnius Old Town.

During our ride from Utena to Kaunas, Sam shared with me his impressions of Lithuanian Baseball. He was impressed by the talent and potential in the young athletes he saw. Good strong bodies, very aggressive and powerful swingers. He sees good things to come in Lithuanian baseball. His biggest critique was that technique and discipline must become major focuses in order for the skill level and level of play to improve as a whole.

Sam expressed that he looks forward to creating a lasting relationship between Lithuanian Baseball and the MLB Envoy Program. He looks forward to the possibility of sending an Envoy to Lithuania for the 2010 season, and possibly even a return visit to Lithuania himself!

We greatly appreciate the work Sam was able to do in his brief visit to Lithuania, and look forward to the possibilities this may bring. Thanks also to all those who hosted him for making the visit a success.

Brief bio on MLB Envoy Sam Dempster: Sam is one of the head coaches of the MLB Envoy Coaching Program. He has coached in Germany, England, Holland, Spain, Kenya, and South Korea among other countries, as an Envoy coach. He currently has a regular role coaching and training the British Cadet National Team. Back in North America, Coach Dempster is entering his 18th season as head coach of Durham College in Oshawa, where he has compiled a record of 245-165 over 17 seasons. He has guided his team to Conference titles in each of the last four seasons and four appearances in the Canadian National Championships.

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Dempster's role with MLB earned him international recognition in January 2007, when he was awarded the Julio Puente Envoy International Coach Award by Major League Baseball. The prestigious award is presented by MLB for unselfish, dedicated and passionate work in growing the game of baseball worldwide. He also acts as a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Coming off their fourth consecutive Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA) Ontario Championship, Durham is looking to make a run at a fifth straight provincial title and are preparing for CIBA Nationals taking place in Oshawa from October 23-25, 2009.



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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
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