USA Baseball has revealed its full 2014 15U National Team coaching staff to serve under Chan Brown, who was announced as manager back in January.
Mark Shives, Javy Rodriguez and Jason Washburn will complete Team USA’s 15U coaching staff, which will be challenged with leading Team USA in its first-ever 15U Baseball World Cup appearance, fresh after the Team USA youth side won the gold medal in last year’s COPABE 15U Pan American Championship.
“All four of these coaches have been involved and excelled with USA Baseball in various roles over the past couple of years,” said USA Baseball’s 15U National Team director, Brooks Webb, of the 2014 coaching staff.
Fourteen of the sixteen participating countries have been announced for the 2nd 15U Baseball World Cup that will be staged in Baja California Sur, Mexico from August 1-10.
Six countries will come from the Americas: Brazil, Cuba (2012 U-15 silver), Mexico, Panama, United States and defending U-15 World Champion Venezuela.
Europe will have four National Teams present in Baja: Czech Republic, Italy, Germany and Lithuania.
Asia will be represented by Chinese Taipei (2012 U-15 bronze), Hong Kong and Japan – while Africa will be represented by South Africa.
The two remaining countries will represent the Oceania region.
About Team USA’s 15U National Team Coaching Staff:
Chan Brown, who will lead Team USA, has collected five US High School region championships, two US state championships and a Baseball America national championship to go along with a dozen coach of the year awards from four different publications, most notably the ABCA Southeastern Regional Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
Javy Rodriguez, the head coach at Gulliver Preparatory (Miami, Fla.) since 2008, will be a national team coach for the first time in 2014 after serving as a 15U National Team Trials coach in 2013 and on the USA Baseball National Team Championships taskforce in 2011 and 2013.
Jason Washburn assisted on the 2010 and 2011 16U National Team Trials, as well as the 2012 and 2013 15U National Team Trials, before being named to his first national team coaching staff in 2014. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Washburn has been a head coach at the high school level since 1999.
Mark Shives joins the coaching staff as the pitching coach, a role he served with the inaugural 15U National Team in 2012. Shives is currently the head coach at Clear Spring High School (Clear Spring, Md.) and has coached in three NCAA regionals and one NCAA super regional.
Pete Hite is veteran Team USA certified athletic trainer, will be making his ninth international trip with USA Baseball in 2014. Hite is the current head athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach at Northern New Mexico College. Hite has worked in professional baseball as an athletic trainer.
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