It’s down to the final week in the leadup to a new Maple Leafs baseball season. Since the fall, the team has been putting in the hard yards on the field to make sure that this season is one to be remembered. 

Head Coach Brad Stoltzfus, said that “The team is feeling great right now and there’s a lot of excitement built up to have a strong season.” He went on to say that this year the team’s goal is to win 25 games and qualify for the postseason tournament. 

A large factor to why the upcoming season is so exciting is how the roster has been constructed. This year the team boasts 17 first-years, signalling something of a rebuild for the team, and something that the returning players felt very positive about. Trent Sillett, one of only five seniors on the roster, said, “I’m super hopeful … for the upcoming season. Being such a young roster I believe we have a lot of promise going into the season and a lot of new energy.” 

The Leafs don’t only boast a young team this year, but a deep coaching staff, with Stoltzfus leading a staff that consists of six other assistant coaches. GC has two pitching coaches, coaches James Stricker and Michael Walker; a hitting and outfielder coach, Julian Gonzalez; a catcher coach, Isaac Lehman; and lastly Tyler Miller, who handles strength and conditioning. Stoltzfus himself also handles hitting and the infielders, along with the more day-to-day tasks of running such a big operation. 

With such a large staff, the exercise of getting the same message across to all players is a big task, but Nate Pinedo and Owen Tyers, two returning sophomores on the team this year, had a glowing endorsement of Coach Stoltzfus’ system. They both made note of how important it’s been that the staff have been able to hold three or four training sessions each day to ensure that regardless of position, every member of the team is getting ample training time so that they feel ready to perform at the collegiate level. 

Tyers went on to say that “The large coaching staff has brought a lot of knowledge and hands to running successful practices, and I hope for it to bridge a gap between positions, on and off the field.” 

Pinedo said, “Our coaching staff is going above and beyond to have everyone ready for the upcoming season. We all as a team hold each other accountable and try to make each other better everyday.” Despite the huge effort on behalf of the coaching staff, the real success will come down to the players on the field, so the players are all putting in the hard work in the spaces that their staff is facilitating for them. 

The Leafs’ season kicks off this weekend against Columbia College, and they will be at home for the first time on Feb. 28. Pinedo said, “We definitely feel like we have a chip on our shoulder and got something to prove.”