This year will mark the second year in a row where our roster will feature the majority of the players from the South Surrey area.  In past years we have attracted a number of players from outside our boundaries wishing to play for the Triton’s but this year we will see over 80% of the lineup coming from the WRSSBA system.  We remain hopeful this trend will continue.

As in the past, 2011 will see the Jr. Triton’s ready to start another demanding schedule playing a number of tournaments in Washington State over the course of the summer. In addition to our 40 game BCJPBL league schedule we have a number of exhibition games planned through out the Pacific Northwest against some of the top 16U clubs from Washington.

The Jr. Triton’s will see a new manager take the helm this year. Mike Bird, assistant coach of the Jr. Triton’s in 2010, will take over for Coach Smithson, who has moved up to the Sr. club. Bird has an extensive coaching background coaching in the Tri City area for over 10 years. His greatest accomplishment was being the head of coach of the 2009 Bantam AAA Tri City Indians who went on to win the Western Canada Championship.

Joining Coach Bird will be his assistant coach, Joey McAuley. Coach Bird and Coach McAuley coached Bantam AAA together from 2006-2008. After taking some time off, with a brief move to Edmonton, McAuley is back in BC and looking to get his feet wet again in the coaching ranks. McAuley is a student of the game and prides himself on his knowledge of pitching. We are very confident that Coach McAuley will do a great job working with the pitching staff this year.

The Junior Triton’s coaching staff is very excited for the start of the season. We have lots of quality depth at each position and if the way this team worked during the fall and during winter training is any indication, we can expect good things will happen. Coach Bird and Coach McAuley are looking forward to getting this group ready for the next level.

PITCHING:

The Junior Triton’s will definitely have a lot of depth at this position. The pitching staff will be anchored by 3 returning players: Juniors Ethan Cornfield, Tanner Sandstrom and a second year Freshman Byron Keturakis. Both Cornfield and Sandstrom still have a chance to make the senior squad in march. Sophomores and RHP’s Max Koltai, Matt Stephens, Brayden Bouchey, Lucas Ramsden, Cam Forbes and Kieran O’Connor are all graduates from White Rock’s Bantam Program. Sophomore LHP, Kevin Irving, coming off a Bantam AAA Western Canada Championship with North Delta, also adds to our depth. Another Sophomore Mason Verge, will look to show his talents for us this year along with crop of promising LHP’s with Freshmen Scott Doucet,  Sophomores Connor Kenwood and late addition,  Jonas Coyes. Finally, yet another first year freshman Liam Shibata have shown tremendous poise and intelligence through out the winter. All of these pitchers have worked incredibly hard over the off season  and hope to put all their hard work to use in March.

CATCHING:

A great deal of depth best describes the players competing  at this position. Returning Sophomore, Brett Walker returns to the junior Triton’s and will be our #1 catcher. Sophomore Taylor Bedwell and Freshman Liam Rihela have both worked extremely hard during the fall and winter and impressed Triton’s Management with their dedication and drive to get better.  Another Sophomore,  Griffin Hebert will  have an opportunity to  compete as well Junior Kaleb Verge who has shown tremendous athleticism and looks to battle for some time behind the dish as well.  Liam Shibata will likely see some behind the plate.

INFIELD:

Our middle infield is looking very strong. Tanner Sandstrom, Liam Shibata, Mason Verge and Byron Keturakis are all very capable of playing SS on a regular basis and will look to push each other. Brayden Bouchey, Liam Rihela and Keturakis will all see time at 2 bag.  At the hot corner, Cam Forbes, Taylor Bedwell and Brayden Bouchey will all battle for time. Brett Walker, Max Koltai and Tanner Sandstrom could all see time there as well.

At 1^st, Ethan Cornfield will look to provide leadership at that position. Matt Stephens, Scott Doucet, Kevin Irving, Connor Kenwood and Brett Walker will all see time there.

OUTFIELD:

The Junior Tritons outfield is full of very strong arms and a ton of athleticism. Kaleb Verge, Cam Forbes, Kevin Irving, Connor Kenwood, Kieran O’Connor, Max Koltai, Matt Stephens, Lucas Ramsden and Scott Doucet will all battle and scrap for outfield time. Junior Mitch Gerhardt, who is coming off knee surgery, will fit in nicely in the OF when he gets to 100%. Gerhardt is also one of the  top hitting prospects in the organization.

The depth in the outfield this year will be fun to watch. All of these players will do their best to make sure that no balls touch the grass.