By JOE McFARLAND

He has learned from some of the greatest baseball coaches Alberta has ever seen.

And for a moment on Opening Weekend of the Canadian College Baseball Conference season, University Baseball Club (based out of the University of British Columbia) head coach Devery Van De Keere decided to channel one of his favourites: his father, Keith.

Despite losing three of their four games against Prairie Baseball Academy, the Barrhead native was proud of how his team competed, keeping it close against a team viewed as a potential championship contender.

That gave Van De Keere the perfect opportunity to impart some wisdom he received from his dad: “Humble in victory, no excuses in defeat.”

He has no idea where it originally came from, but Van De Keere remembers hearing it during provincial championships and it always stuck.

“Baseball is going to humble you, and life is going to humble you,” he told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast.

“So when you are victorious, there’s no reason to rub it in people’s faces as it comes back at you quick.”

As the inaugural season rolls along, Van De Keere says he will lean on more of the advice he received from his mentors, as well as his own personal experiences, to guide the new University of British Columbia team to future success.

BASEBALL BLOODLINES

Van De Keere doesn’t remember his dad sharing a lot of his baseball stories.

What he does remember is going to a cubby hole area in his childhood home and finding dust-covered boxes in storage.

The young boy opened the boxes to find pictures of his dad wearing a Team Canada jersey, which he did multiple times at the Amateur World Series (1974, 1978, 1980), the Intercontinental Cup (1977, 1981) and the Pan American Games (1979).

“He’s so humble, he never talked about his baseball experiences,” Devery said. “Every so often, you would get a little story here and there about playing in Nicaragua with officers holding semi-automatic rifles protecting the dugouts.”

It was eye-opening for the young athlete, as he quickly tried to learn as much as he could about all his dad had done.

The real turning point happened during a TV broadcast.

“There was this Toronto Blue Jays game on and there was a trivia question: ‘Who was the last Canadian pitcher to beat Team Cuba in international play?’” Van De Keere recalled.

“The answer was Keith Van De Keere.”

With his own emerging baseball career underway, he took every bullpen or batting session in the backyard a little more seriously, leaning on his dad for motivation.

PATH TO THE PROS

Van De Keere forged his own path quickly, representing his community and province on various stages.

He helped Barrhead claim provincial championships in 1998, 2000 and 2002, as well as a national bronze medal in the final year.

The talented infielder walked on at Phoenix College before landing at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was named an All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2006 with a .368 batting average, nine home runs and 41 runs batted in.

Despite some injury troubles, Van De Keere was drafted in the 48^th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft by the Kansas City Royals.

He spent two years with their Pioneer League affiliate, the Idaho Falls Chukars, hitting a combined .282 with nine roundtrippers, 58 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 131 games.

Van De Keere then traveled the world to play and coach the game for seven years before coming back home to live in B.C.

“It’s incredible where baseball has brought me,” he said. “I am so unbelievably thankful to the powers of the universe, however this has happened, because it could have unfolded so differently.”

A NEW HOME

With his playing career in the rearview mirror, Van De Keere dedicated himself to giving back to the game in his home country.

After running baseball programming in Vancouver for a few years, he was brought on as a coach with the UBC Thunderbirds while he pursued his master’s degree in high performance coaching and technical leadership.

While the NAIA Thunderbirds have enjoyed success over the years under head coach Chris Pritchett, the program wanted to expand from a competition perspective for its junior varsity program.

Enter the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC).

With five of its eight teams already in B.C., it was a move that made logistical sense.

Van De Keere says everyone has been very supportive at every step along the way and, when they suited up for their first games in mid-March, it was a gratifying moment for him and the program.

“It’s been a big challenge with a lot of work – people don’t understand the amount of planning and administrative duties that go into coaching – but it’s really enjoyable work,” he said.

“I love going into work and love the position I’m in.”

Surrounded by several former collegiate and professional players who are also now coaches, Van De Keere says he wants to instill a sense of pride and respect in the program that he hopes will become the envy of everyone across Canada.

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STUDENT OF THE GAME

Reflecting on the first weekend, Van De Keere was happy to learn that the players have already started to bring those values to the field.

He says they care about being in the league, about each other, and about their successes.

“I was not expecting that kind of intensity in the dugout,” Van De Keere said. “I’ve been coaching this program for around four years now and the level of intensity and excitement in the dugout after a big strikeout or after a big hit was incredible.”

He plans to keep taking the best advice and experiences shared by people like his dad, Ray Brown, Orv Franchuk and the many other mentors he’s had to keep building the program, as he sees it as his duty to teach the game the right way.

Van De Keere also believes in having an “athlete-centered approach,” getting to know and care for the roster of 44 players, checking in with them regularly and understanding that they are students in life and in the game.

Just like he once was – a young baseball player fighting his way through all the successes and failures the game provides.

“All these chances, all these things that went my way along this journey … it means the world to me to still be in this game,” Van De Keere said.

It’s the start of a new chapter in his book and this one is rooted, once again, close to home.