Jim Lawson - HEAD COACH - VarsityJim and his family moved to Jim’s adult playing career started in 1985 where his Richmond Auto Body Jr. Team played their way from Provincial and Western Canadian Champions to bronze medalists at the National Championship. From there his career continued to exceed his expectations by playing for Team In 1988, Jim took his career to a new level heading to a NAIA ranked school;
The Major League Draft occurred shortly after his school’s successful year, where Jim’s dreams were about to come true. He was drafted as a right handed pitcher in the 10th round by the One of Jim’s highlights as an amateur player came in 2002. The St. Albert Tigers earned its berth into the 2002 Baseball Canada Senior Championships and Jim was the first person they called to join their quest for the national title. Jim pitched in 3 games, earned 2 wins, 0 losses, and 1 save, and was named All-Star right handed pitcher and Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament. Jim’s outstanding showing at the Nationals proved to be invaluable helping the team bring home the 2002 National Championship.
Since the 2002 National Championships, Jim has been focusing his time and efforts on developing Pro Baseball Force Inc. In addition to PBF, Jim became the head baseball coach at the
The PBF travel team is something Jim is very proud of and he hopes all players who participate on the team will look back and say that PBF had in some way helped develop them into the ballplayer they are. Mike was born and raised in Calgary and is a product of Baseball Alberta. After a brief stint on the inaugural U of C Dinos baseball program he moved to Long Island, NY to play at Briarcliffe Junior College (NJCAA Div 1) in which the team was ranked as high as #4 both years. While at Briarcliffe he received All-Conference (2001, 2002) and All-District (2002) honours with his best season being a .440 avg, 13 HRs, 70 RBIs and 49 SBs. Mike then transferred to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (NCAA Div 1) as a player (2003, 2004) and then assistant coach (2005). In 2004, he was named to the All-Independent First team as an outfielder in which he hit .390, 12 HRs and 65 RBIs. Mike has a career batting average of .375 in over 250 collegiate baseball games at the Division 1 level. He has since moved back to Calgary and works for Telus as a Strategic Planner for Alberta. Mike has played for the Senior Redbirds since 2003 and took over the coaching reigns in 2008.
Brent is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and has been an extremely talented hitter since he hit 30 homeruns in a single season as a 16 year old. Throughout his playing career, Brent has had the privilege of representing his province at an amazing eight national championships, the most successful being a bronze medal finish in 2001. He attended Indian Hills Community College (Div I NJCAA) in Fort Pierce, FL and played professionally for the Trois Rivieres Saints in the short lived Canadian Baseball League (CBL). Brent has played alongside or against many current MLB players including Russell Martin, Angel Pagan, Justin Morneau, and Adam Loewen. Brent now lives in Calgary and is a real estate insurance broker as well as a member of the Calgary Redbirds Senior Men's AAA team.
Tad Desimone - Assistant Coach - Varsity
Tad was born in Vernon, BC and after high school, attended college at Big Bend Community College as well as Lewis-Clark State College. In 1997, he was named team MVP at BBCC after hitting .386 and was awarded the Seattle Mariners sponsored NWAACC Scholar Athlete Baseball Award. That same year, Tad was also a member of Team BC in the Canada Summer Games. In 1998, Tad was Lewis-Clark's Scholar Athlete of the Year with a 3.40 GPA and hit .304. He graduated with a degree in kinesiology and is currently a personal trainer at One On One Fitness in Calgary. Tad is a member of the Calgary Redbirds Senior Men's AAA team.
Mike Schlekewy - Assistant Coach - Varsity
Bryan Allen -
Fall/Winter
JV team and Head Coach of Redbirds 18U
Bryan is from Victoria, BC and is a product of the BC Premier League. Bryan played at Malaspina-University College for two years, where he was teammates with McPherson (2003) and set the school single season record in homeruns with six his sophomore year (2004). He then transferred to Williston State College in North Dakota where he received All Conference and All Region selections. His final collegiate stop was for the Jamestown College Jimmies (NAIA) as a player (2006-07) and a coach (2008). These years were highlighted by regional championships (2006, 2008) and a World Series berth (2008). Bryan was also a member of the Saskatoon Yellow Jackets of the Western Major Baseball League (2006-07) where he hit .355 lifetime. Currently, Bryan is a teacher in the Calgary area and a member of the Calgary Redbirds Senior Men's AAA team.
Brent Cooper - Assistant Coach - Junior Varsity,
Head
Coach of Redbirds 14U
