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2012 Winner of the Dr. Anson Buck Award
2019 Brampton Tournament Finalist
2019 COBA MVP - Joe Ferreira
2019 COBA Playoff Finalist
2022 Lakeside Tournament Finalist
2022 COBA ROY - Aidan Murphy
2023 Lakeside Tournament Finalist
2023 COBA Playoff Finalist
2023 COBA ROY - Alex Fascia
A Proud member of the COBA "AAA" Major League since 2004
Coaches
President
Blake Frost
General Manager
Ron Lutz
Head Coaches
Scotty Stephenson
Ian Held
Dave Flannagan
JR Pinlac
Frank Fascia
Bench Coaches
Joe Ferreira
Bruce Wrigley
Harry Eland
John Schwalm
Steve Kretz
Jamie Jameson
In Search of the Winning Formula
There's more to coaching than meets the eye
Before getting to the players it's important to acknowledge the coaches for their tireless work on and off the field, dedicating themselves to the team. We know, as they do, these are voluntary positions and they have jobs like everyone else, yet they continue to free up time and energy to do whatever it takes to create a winning team. The players might get in a couple of games a week, but it's the off days when the coach does most of his work. These men have spent thousands of hours over the years working diligently behind the scenes fielding a team, whether that meant recruiting players, arranging for call-ups or sending applications for tournament entries. It is a daily exercise that most of us will never realize.
It was a tribute to those players who played during the teams infancy knowing they were going to lose most of their games, though it was never through a lack of effort. It wasn't until 2012 when the Battlecats finished in first place taking the title in the Len Andrews division 3 games ahead of the Twins of Mississauga. This was the year Brampton joined the big boys club, they proved, led by the coaches, they could not only compete, they could win.
When a past coach comes out to watch a game he is often greeted by players and coaches with a short respectful greeting beginning with a handshake. That simple acknowledgement would make any coach proud knowing that he had in some small way help develop the players into not only better players but better men. It's all about respect.
So whether you are a player, fan, friend, spouse or parent and you're around the diamond and you see one of those past coaches go over and shake his hand and say 'thank you" for helping the Royals become the team it is today.
In the Beginning
To further hinder the Braves progression, 17 of their 24 players left the team after it's inaugural season in 2004 and the remaining 7 Braves played at least 3 seasons or more. So, in 2005 they were basically starting over making it incredibly difficult trying to gain any stability, but on the other hand those 7 players who stayed were so important forming the base on which the team was built. Chart below shows how extensive the year by year turnover was.
Played 1 Played 3+
Year New Players Season Seasons
2004 24 17 7
2005 15 6 7
2006 11 5 5
2007 14 7 5
I would like to highlight each of the three eras mentioned so that those players that played in the majority of the games from each era get their due recognition.
The Team's Evolution
In my view, over the years the league and the Royals have gone through a natural evolution. Since they joined COBA in 2004, the league has seen Glanbrook merge with Burlington in 2014; and someone can correct me but I believe the Dundas Chiefs (with their chicken coop dugouts and the tiny announcers booth) folded after the 2009 season, which was offset by the second or third reincarnation of Mississauga North Tigers/Twins who later would become a COBA and provincial powerhouse earning 4 trips to the Nationals.
No team can be successful if they don't constantly update their lineup. The Senior Royals over the years have been the beneficiary of our highly successful Junior program. Brampton, like every other team in the province is only as good as their Juniors. There is no greater motivation than fear, fear that your job is in jeopardy if you don't rise to the team standards. This is why the team constantly needs fresh top Junior players vying to displace the regulars, to avoid complacency.
The Braves/Battlecats/Royals have been through three era's in their relatively short 18 year lifespan:
1) The players who were with the team during the first few years setting the building blocks for many years to come; Nonis, Benyo, Frost, Edmunds, Knight, Held, Hughes and Appleby. They knew they were going to lose most of their games yet they fought with everything they had. All they wanted was a place to play and Blake and Ron provided that. The foundation they laid was built on small victories such as losing a tight game to the eventual winner from Detroit in their very first Windsor CAN-AM tournament.
2) The players who graduated from the Junior program from 2007-2009; Speciale, Gareri, Hough, Mohamed, Purohit, Deleskie and Dodwell reshaped the Battlecats into a competitive team building on the solid base that was set for them, earning the league's respect by winning the Len Andrews Division title in 2012. As a group they provided the youthful energy the team was sorely lacking.
3) The large influx of players joining the team from 2014-15; Ferreira's, Stormer, Thomson, DiRoma's, Pinlac and Rickli. It's no coincidence the team experienced it's greatest successes with this group such as the 2018 2nd place finish in Ottawa (the best tournament finish ever for the team) under the harshest of conditions then later that summer finished a win away from a possible finals (pending the coin flip) showing at the Elims. They added power, defense, consistency and heart to the team. The teams peaks and valleys are finally flattening out.
They have also added players that joined the team outside of the junior program, i.e.; Burke, McLaughlin's, McCanna and Page who have made significant contributions to the team over the years. These veteran pitchers careers spanned all three eras, helping bond the team together with their experience, contributing over 1,200 innings.
The Future Looks Bright
Much should be said for the call-ups over the years needed to fill out the lineup. They often don't get the playing time they hoped for, but more importantly are gaining experience by rubbing elbows with the senior players. This will only help them when they are here for good. A couple of call-ups worth mentioning in 2018 were Logan Janes, who played himself into 7 games batting a very respectable .286 and Alex Emerson who was thrown into the fire, pitching in the Royals final game of the season holding the powerhouse Rangers to 2 unearned runs over his 4 innings of work. In 2022, both Logan and Alex have cracked the lineup, and are important cogs in the Royal's wheel.
If we fast forward to the 2022 season along with Logan and Alex we had a glimpse of the teams future. Cameron Hibbs has put himself on the verge of being a regular starter. With time his outings will expand. His best game was against a very good Burlington team. He threw 5 1/3 innings allowing only a couple of earned runs. Aidan Murphy hit the biggest home run of the season tying the game vs Erindale late in the game at the Elims. Murphy's pitching was a very respectable 3.86 ERA. Extraordinary numbers for a rookie. Sam Lebel is another slugger who will be a long time Royals mainstay. Twice Sam had a 4 RBI game including a 2 HR game vs Burlington.
As everyone knows, there are no shortcuts to being a COBA champion. Nearing the peak as the Royals did in 2012 is one thing, it's a completely different task staying there. Dave Flannagan's footprint is firmly implanted on this team and we are already seeing results of not only his hard work, but that of the players as well. In a very short time he has instilled a new attitude on the team, a winning attitude, which leaves me very excited for the teams future. It's core, led by Dave and his experienced coaches, should keep the team competitive for many years to come.
For the 2022 season Dave has stepped away from the senior loop to work with the junior program which makes way for Frank Fascia, who is no stranger to senior baseball. Frank is well respected within the Ontario baseball community, and will do everything he can to make this a consistently competitive team.
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