OAKVILLE - The Oakville Royals Baseball Club continue to bolster their staff with the announcement that Mike Steed has renewed his agreement as the Royals Pitching Coordinator. In his role, Coach Steed will continue to coordinate, oversee, and monitor all of the offseason pitching programs for the club, while working alongside the Royals Pitching Coach's. 

In addition to Coach Steed's role with the Royals, he is also the Field Manager of the Thunder Bay Bordercats of the Northwood League, a position that he has held for the past three seasons.

"Coach Steed has been a great resource not only for myself, but for our Field Managers, and Pitching Coach's. His wealth of knowledge, commitment to detail, combined with his organizational skills have really started to rub off on everyone in the program. Our pitchers have become better physically and mentally because of the program that Coach Steed implemented this past offseason", stated General Manager John Milton.

A tell tale sign of Coach Steed's work was how well the pitchers performed during the Royals Spring Trip to Florida this past March. During the trip the Royals had impressive wins over Niagara Community College who were ranked 6th in the nation, and Silo HS from Oklahoma who are perennial State Champions.

"Bringing back Coach Steed shows the commitment the organization has to bringing in top quality Coach's, as well as quality people", said President Mel Swinton.

In what is becoming an annual tradition, the Royals organization has placed another player on the 40 man roster for the Ontario Youth Team.

Baseball Ontario announced yesterday that Cam Wilkie from the Royals 17U team has been selected to the 40 man roster, which will hold another training camp on August 5-6 to get down to their final roster in preparation for the Baseball Canada Cup August 10-14 in Moncton, NB. The process started for Wilkie back in late May when he and other Royals players attended the Ontario Cup which featured over 200 players from across the Province. "I've only had the chance to see Cam play a few times before the Ontario Cup, but I was really impressed with his speed and power to the opposite field", said Royals General Manager John Milton, who along with Royals 16U Coach Mike Swinton, had the opportunity to coach a team that consisted of players predominantly from the Royals organization. "In speaking to fellow scouts and college coach's, they feel that Cam has not even reached his full potential yet, which should translate into a successful career at US College or professional level", said Milton. 

Wilkie is following in the steps of former players like Dalton Pompey, who went on to represent Canada at the World Junior Baseball Championships last July in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

"For the past many years we have been focusing on ensuring that our players are given the tools to succeed at the next level. We have been able to do this as a result of our tremendous coaching staff and the training programs put in place. The Oakville Royals are becoming a destination for the top players in the Province", said Oakville Royals President Mel Swinton

"On behalf of the whole Oakville Royals organization, we are all very proud of what Cam has accomplished and wish him the best of luck", said Swinton.

The Royals 16 and Under Club set out on June 29th with a goal in mind and that was to win a Championship South of the border and that’s exactly what they did. The 16U Club returned on July 17th not only with a Championship but with the most successful road trip in Royals History. The team posted a 17-4-1 record.  The players not only won but they came together as a ball club, played the game with class, and represented the Royals Organization with dignity and respect.

The Royals began their quest in West Virginia where they won the first seed in their pool going 5 and 1. They ended up beating the Ohio Warhawks in the Semi-Final with last inning heroics sending them to the Final where they lost to the Connecticut Dogs.

After showcasing in Fort Wayne, Indiana the 16’s split with the Summit City Sluggers sending the Sluggers their 3rd loss of the year. With the taste of bitter defeat in their mouths the Royals set out for their second tournament in Toledo, Ohio- The Mid-West Classic. The Royals went 4 and 0 in pool play and went on to sweep the Playoff Rounds and win The Mid-West Classic Championship.

In their Final Tournament the 16U Royals headed to Indianapolis for the 16U National Championship. The Club finished 5-1-1 and finished in 9th out of 40 teams and won the Consolation Championship. When asked about the Road Trip and the successes the 16U Club had seen, Director of Baseball Operations and 16U Field Manager Mike Siena, had the following to say, “I am so proud of this group of players for battling the way they did all year long. The winning record that they posted is a testament to their work ethic and their ability to buy into the Royal Way. All of these players have a bright future in baseball and will draw upon these experiences as they move forward throughout their baseball careers.”         

The Oakville Royals 17 and under Team departed for their Summer Schedule on June 30th headed to West Lafayette, Indiana to compete in the Lids Purdue Freedom Classic. This event was not your typical tournament, as it showcased all of the 2012 Graduating players, from various Teams in North America. Nationally recognized Teams, such as Top Tier, Indiana Bulls, Indiana Mustangs, Dayton Dodgers, and Ohio Elite were all represented at this event. The Royals 17s competed against many of the above mentioned Teams, and performed very well. With over 30 Colleges and Universities at this event, ranging from NJCAA, to NCAA, to NAIA, all levels of post secondary education, the Royals 17s received much interest from many of the schools, that attended this event. Even though the 17s win/loss record may not have been favourable, the exposure these players received, was well worth the trip to West Lafayette.

The Royals 17s then attended their next event, in Toledo, Ohio. This event was an 18 and under event, and once again the Royals 17s were playing in a pool with older Teams. The Royals finished the round robin with a 2 and 2 record, which was not good enough to move on to Championship day. The Royals 17s did lead this Tournament in Runs scored in Pool Play, putting up 47 runs in 4 games, against teams such as the Michigan Blue Jays, Jet Box, and the WBC Yellow Jackets. Once again, many Colleges and Universities were on hand to see the Royals 17s perform, and from many of the College Recruiters that were on hand for this event, they were very impressed with the way the Royals 17s competed. Again, exposure for this group, was the primary goal, and that was accomplished.

For the Royals 17s final event of the Summer, they traveled to Dayton, Ohio, for the Dayton/Wright State Event, which was again, an 18 and under event, with much exposure to Colleges and Universities in the Midwest. The Royals 17s once again, played very well in arguably one of the toughest pools in this massive event, which featured 96 Teams, from all over North America. The Royals finished the Round Robin with a 1 and 3 record, not advancing to the Championship round. However, once again, the Royals had a very positive event, gaining much interest from the 20 some odd schools, which were there looking for College Student athletes, for their programs, for the future. In their last 2 games of this event, the Royals 17s boasted no less that 10 NCAA Division 1 and 2 schools there, watching the Royals compete, and perform on the stage at Dayton University. Once again, exposure was the primary reason for attending this event.

All along the way, the Royals 17s group received many compliments and accolades, whether it be from patrons at restaurants, shoppers in Malls, or just in the Hotels which housed the boys along the way. Many people went out of their way, to compliment the boys on their appearance, morals, manners and overall good character, while on the road for a total of 19 days. Even though the win/loss record may not lead folks to believe that this trip was a success, the overall exposure and interest these boys received while away, made this trip, a huge success in the eyes of the parents, and the Coaches,  who congratulate the Royals 17s, on a job well done.

The Oakville Royals 18U team just completed there 19 day summer trip where the team saw action in four different states and had a combined record of 14-6.  The Royals Started there summer schedule at the Beast of the East in Wheeling, WV.  The 18U Royals have attended the Beast of the East the Past two seasons and won the third place bracket in 2010.  The 2011 version of the Royals had a very good run and went 5-3 in the tournament falling just short of winning the third place bracket again losing in the semi final to the Georgia Eagles. 

One of the highlights in WV was the showcase the Royals we able to have in front of West Virginia University an NCAA division 1 school located in Morgantown, WV.  Coach Booth says “it was very nice for Head Coach Greg Van Zant to take the time to watch practice and evaluate our players; I am hoping we can send a player or two to West Virginia University in the future.” 

After the Beast of the East the Royals traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana and spent a day at the University of Saint Francis.  The Royals had an organizational College showcase and then played the Indiana Bandits.  The 18U Royals concluded there Indiana swing in fine fashion sweeping the bandits in a two game set.

The second tournament for the Royals was the Midwest Elite in Toledo, OH.  The Royals went 4-0 in pool play, starting right where they left off the weekend before.  In the semi final the Royals beat the Illinois North Stars setting them up in the final against the Illinois Indians.  The Indians were also undefeated going into the final and ended up beating the Royals to take the Championship.  Coach Booth says “This was a very strong tournament for us, the boys played very well and saw top competition.  The opportunity to play in front of Division 1 schools at there facilities is not an every day experience, our players represented the organization very well.”

The final stop on the Royals road trip was the Sandlott World Series in Nashville, TN.  The Royals attended the Sandlott in 2009 and were knocked out by East Cobb, GA.  The Royals started the World Series going 2-1 in pool play finishing second in their division.  In the first round of the single elimination bracket the Royals faced the KY Roosters and had a 3-1 lead going into the 7th inning.  In the bottom of the 7th the Roosters loaded the bases and hit a walk off grand slam to beat the Royals.

“The players played there hearts out for the past three weeks, it was a tough way for us to end our tournament schedule.  I gave the 2011 seniors a challenge at the beginning of the trip, have no regrets and leave everything on the field.  I can say with 100% certainty these players gave us everything they had and I was honored at the way they competed and how they conducted them selves” Coach Booth.