All posts by Chad Willis

Sports and brand marketing professional with 20+ years of experience for corporate brands like RJ Reynolds, NEXTEL, Sprint, and NASCAR.
Charlotte, news, Perfect Game, Top Gun, Triple Crown Baseball, USSSA

PAID HEAD BASEBALL COACH OPPORTUNITY

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Canes Carolina 11U baseball club is actively seeking a paid head coach for its Charlotte Metro-area team.  Canes Carolina 11U is a Major classification team participating in Perfect Game, USSSA, Triple Crown, and Top Gun events. 

Candidates should possess coaching experience (travel, showcase, middle school, high school baseball) and a passion for player development.  

This position will collaborate with the Canes Carolina 11U general manager and will be responsible for leading and managing practice plans and gameday coaching decisions. 

As part of the Canes Baseball network of teams, our mission is to promote a team-oriented attitude that is displayed on and off the field. The Canes program is modeled after college programs, with an emphasis on teamwork, discipline, and dedicating themselves to baseball year-round. Playing for the Canes gives student-athletes the experience of traveling all over the east coast and playing high-level baseball.

Interested candidates should contact Canes Carolina 11U general manager Darren Schmolke at schmolkeconstruction@gmail.com or (504) 388-1994.  Once again, this is a paid coaching position that can start immediately. 

Charlotte, news, schedule, Top Gun

CANES CAROLINA WEEKEND PREVIEW: APRIL 29-30

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CHARLOTTE (NC) — Keep moving forward. That’s the message Canes Carolina 11U takes with them into this weekend’s tournament action.

The Canes take the field tomorrow afternoon in the Top Gun Trucker Hat Classic, looking to put the lessons learned during a tough tournament outing two weeks ago to use.

Pool play begins at 1 pm when the Canes square off with Dry Pond 11U (Denver, NC), which captured a Top Gun Gold Bracket championship last weekend and sports a 25-6 record in the 11U classification in Top Gun competition.

The Canes wrap up their Saturday double-header at 3 pm against the Belmont Bandits (Belmont, NC). All games will be played at Martha Rivers Park in Gastonia, NC. This will be the Canes’ first Top Gun action of the season.

Charlotte, news, North Carolina, schedule, USSSA

CANES CAROLINA QUEEN CITY SELECT SUPER NIT PREVIEW

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CHARLOTTE (NC) — There are tournaments, there are big tournaments, and then there’s the USSSA Queen City Select Super NIT. Formerly called “The Beast of the East,” this USSSA event brings together the best travel baseball teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, and other areas of the Southeastern United States.

Canes Carolina will compete in a stacked, 14-team 11U Major field that includes seven of the top 10 teams in USSSA’s North Carolina power rankings, as well as the No. 1 team in South Carolina. Seven teams are ranked by Travel Baseball Rankings.

Canes Carolina will be taking to the diamond for the first time since a semifinal round showing in the USSSA St. Patty’s Classic (March 18-19). This begins a stretch of baseball that finds the Canes in tournament action for three of the next four weekends.

The squad will open play in the Queen City Select Super NIT Saturday at noon in a Canes inter-organization matchup, as Canes Carolina faces Canes South (Greenville, SC) at TM Winget Park. Canes South enters play as the No. 1 ranked team in South Carolina by both USSSA and TBR.

The back half of Canes Carolina’s double-header occurs at 4 pm as the Canes take on the Asheville A’s, the 11th-ranked team in TBR’s North Carolina poll. The Asheville A’s have one of the longest-tenured core groups of players in the tournament, with eight of the team’s 11 players spending at least four years with the squad.

Tournament play takes place Sunday at Catawba Park in Tega Cay, SC.

USSSA QUEEN CITY SUPER SELECT NIT

11U FIELD

TEAMCITYSTATESTATE
POWER
RANK		NATIONAL
POWER
RANK
Mission Saints – CorrellWaxhawNC14
Canes SouthGreenvilleSC113
Canes LandRaleighNC28
SBA North ProspectsRockwellNC418
Carolina ExpressCharlotteNC619
GBC ProspectsGreensboroNC851
5 Star RailroadersClaytonNC973
Dirtbags BlackCharlotteNC1077
SBA North StarsMooresvilleNC12108
TPA NationalsApexNC14138
Canes CarolinaMooresvilleNC15145
Asheville A’sAshevilleNC16154
USA Prime Coastal StarsClemmonsNC20192
On Deck UnionPinevilleNCNR263
Charlotte, Uncategorized, USSSA

CANES CAROLINA READY TO OPEN 2023 SEASON

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CHARLOTTE (NC) — With spring training in the rearview, Canes Carolina 11U sets its sights on this weekend’s 2023 season-opening tournament.

The Canes will be participating in the USSSA St. Patty’s Classic, which features a nine-team 11U Major and AAA pool and will be contested in the Charlotte Metro area.

The Canes are one of four Major-classification clubs in the field, joined by SBA North Prospects (Rockwell, NC), Dirtbags Carolina (Rock Hill, SC), and Mill Town White (Fort Mill, SC). The Prospects and Dirtbags are each ranked No. 3 in their respective states by Travel Baseball Rankings.

The Canes start the 2023 campaign against Mill Town White (1 pm) and conclude pool play by taking on Dirtbags Carolina (5 pm). Both games will be played at TM Winget Park.

TEAMS ENTERED

Canes CarolinaCharlotte, NC
SBA North ProspectsRockwell, NC
Dirtbags CarolinaRock Hill, SC
Mill Town WhiteFort Mill, SC
Legacy Baseball RedFort Mill, SC
LBC LionsCornelius, NC
SBA AmericansCharlotte, NC
MARA BoltsMatthews, NC
Charlotte ColtsCharlotte, NC
news, roster, schedule

CANES CAROLINA SCHEDULE SET

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MOORESVILLE (NC) — The Canes Carolina 11U baseball team will participate in seven sanctioned tournaments this spring, appearing in events organized by Perfect Game, Triple Crown Baseball, and USSSA.

New head coach Chris Manriquez will direct the Canes, which features six returning players and four new faces for the spring season. Manriquez is also the head varsity baseball coach at Charlotte’s Carmel Christian High School. Tyler Roakes will serve as Canes’ assistant coach.

Three crown jewel tournaments appear on the team’s calendar, including two tournaments outside the Charlotte footprint.

The Perfect Game 11U World Series (June 15-20) in East Cobb, Ga., features more than 100 of the top travel baseball teams across the country and a minimum of six games per team.

The 13th annual installment of Triple Crown Baseball’s popular Border Wars tournament has 14 of the top teams from North Carolina and Virginia meeting in Rocky Mount, NC (May 6-7).

Canes Carolina will also play in USSSA’s biggest Charlotte-based event, the prestigious Queen City Select Super NIT (April 14-16), a three-day event with three dozen of the region’s top Major-level teams in the field.

The complete Canes Carolina schedule is as follows:

  • March 18-19: USSSA St. Patty’s Classic (Charlotte)
  • April 14-16: USSSA Queen City Select Super NIT (Charlotte)
  • April 29-30: USSSA Metrolina Classic NIT (Charlotte)
  • May 6-7: Triple Crown Baseball Border Wars XIII (Rocky Mount, NC)
  • May 20-21: USSSA Easton Hype Series (Charlotte)
  • June 3-4: USSSA Race City Classic (Charlotte)
  • June 15-20: Perfect Game 11U World Series (East Cobb, Ga.)