U18 Premier Team
Our U18 Premier Team is comprised of fifteen of our league's top players within the 15-18 year old age group.
The U18 Premier Team has a nine month training experience at the AAA level and plays a full tournament schedule throughout Alberta and the USA.
Derek McPherson - Head Coach
Derek McPherson is both a high performance coach and former college player originally from Revelstoke, BC. Graduating in Moose Jaw, SK in 2000, Derek was a member of the Moose Jaw Cardinals Midget AAA program that won both the 2000 Sask Baseball Provincials and Saskatchewan Summer Games and earning a berth in the 2000 Baseball Canada National Championship. As a player, he attended both PBA (2001) and VIU (2002-2003) in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) before earning a scholarship to Paris Junior College (DI NJCAA) in Paris, TX in 2004. During his collegiate career, Derek was named 1st Team All-Conference with VIU in 2002 & 2003, named team captain at Paris Junior College in 2004, and played his summer ball with the Moose Jaw Miller Express of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL).
After his playing career was over, Derek was fortunate enough to be a part of PBF’s inaugural year as an assistant coach with Jim Lawson here in Calgary. From there, Derek has coached with multiple associations throughout Western Canada - most recently with the Central Okanagan Minor Baseball Association (COMBA) in Kelowna, BC as both Technical Director and Head Coach of their Sun Devils 18U College Prep program beginning in 2018. Derek was able to experience great success within the program, reaching the Final Four Provincial Tournament in back to back years and sending 13 players to college programs all across North America between 2018 & 2020.
Additionally, Derek was a part of the group responsible for designing and opening The Yardhouse Indoor Baseball Facility in Kelowna, serving as it’s General Manager prior to moving back to Calgary in 2021.
Joel Madeira - Assistant Coach
Joel Madeira comes to us after a long collegiate career starting at Okanagan College in the CCBC. Starting in 2012, Joel played three seasons for Coach Geoff White before heading to NCAA DII New Mexico - Highlands in 2015.
His collegiate career wrapped up for NCAA DII Cal State Easy Bay in 2016 where he was named All-Conference Academic. Joel played for the Kelowna Falcons in 2014 and 2015 and worked with Coach Derek McPherson as the pitching coach for the Kelowna Sun Devils 18U College Prep program, stepping in as temporary head coach after Coach McPherson’s departure. Joel is 1 of only 2 DVS certified trainers in Canada.
