Jim Lawson - HEAD COACH - Varsity

Jim and his family moved to Calgary from Vancouver, BC in 1999 to begin his instructional baseball career in a central location that has a tremendous amount of untapped talent.

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 Canada (1986) the National Baseball Institute (1986-87) and B.C.’s Junior Men’s All-Star Team (1987).

In 1988, Jim took his career to a new level heading to a NAIA ranked school; Huntington College in Indiana. There he was an integral part of his team, taking the Area Championship title only to lose in Regional Finals.

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 10^th round by the Oakland A’s. Jim’s professional career lasted 3 years which included joining the “AA” Huntsville Stars in the Southern League.

Shortly thereafter in 1990, Jim returned to British Columbia and continued to play and coach. He coached and played for the Richmond Senior Mens team where he led them to back to back provincial titles (1997/98). Since moving to Calgary, he has kept his playing career active but began his new focus of coaching and instructing young players. Jim is the founder of the Calgary Redbirds Senior Mens Team.  The Redbirds are a team made up of ex-professional, national team and college players. This team gives players a chance to play at a very high level while still maintaining a job or college career. They have represented Alberta at two recent national championships (2004/2007). Jim still actively plays with the Redbirds.

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 National Sport Academy in 2006. This program is based out of Central Memorial High School in Calgary and offers players with a passion for the game to improve their skill level so that hopefully after high school they can reach their goal of playing baseball at the college/university level.

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.  


Derek McPherson
HEAD COACH - Junior Varsity
ASSISTANT COACH - Varsity
   
Derek brings an extensive playing background to the PBF coaching staff.  In 2000 as a high school senior, he played for the Moose Jaw Cardinals winning a Saskatchewan provincial championship, a Saskatchewan Summer Games Championship, and earning a spot at the Canadian Midget National Tournament.  He was also named the province's top hitter with a .487 batting average.  From there, he spent a year at the Prairie Baseball Academy then left for the BCCBL's Malaspina University-College Mariners where he was a two time 1st Team All-Conference selection, two time defensive player of the year, and set a school record with 42 stolen bases in 43 chances in 2003.  Derek's final collegiate stop was in Paris, TX for the Division I NJCAA Paris Dragons in 2004.  He has also had stints in the Western Major Baseball League with Moose Jaw (2004) and Saskatoon (2007).   Currently, Derek works for Canadian Pacific and is a member of the Calgary Redbirds Senior Men's AAA team.

Tad Desimone - Assistant Coach
Tad was born in Vernon, BC and after high school, attended college at Lewis-Clark State College.  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 Redbrids Senior Men's AAA team.

Bryan Allen - Assistant Coach

Brent Cooper - Assistant Coach