Shushkewich: From player to coach, Carlin Dick is grabbing the opportunity by the horns

Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, B.C.), who starred as an INF/OF with the Canisius Golden Griffins, has made a smooth transition into coaching with the Lethbridge Longhorns. Photo: Lethbridge Longhorns

May 31, 2025


By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

As his 2024 college season came to a close, Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, B.C.) contemplated his future in baseball.

A senior at Canisius University, the Golden Griffins finished the campaign 18-30 overall (11-13 conference record) and placed fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. It was going to be his final year with the program, the only one he suited up for after high school, and the B.C. product was trying to soak it all in.

“Heading into the 2024 season, I really wanted to focus on being present and in the moment and not get ahead of myself too much,” said Dick. “Your playing career can end so easily, whether it’s because of an injury, poor performance, or some other outside factor, and I just wanted to stay present and remind myself to have a good season.”

Suiting up in all 48 games for Canisius, the left-handed hitting Canuck put together a .287/.438/.534 slash line with 13 doubles, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .927 OPS. Dick also added 21 stolen bases and walked 42 times compared to his 29 strikeouts.

A team captain for the Golden Griffins, Dick led the team in doubles and walks and ranked second in numerous other offensive statistical categories while spending most of his time at first base with some corner outfield starts mixed in.

“I think I left a really strong mark and went out on a high note,” said Dick. “I got to play with some good friends one last time and still had summer baseball to look forward to, so I was able to kick the can a little further down the road playing-wise.”

Vauxhall Academy alum Carlin Dick (Abbotsford, B.C.) starred with the Canisius Golden Griffins for four seasons. Photo: Canisius Golden Griffins

Majoring in Kinesiology, Dick’s playing career at the D1 level was starting to wind down but the baseball dream was being kept alive for at least one more summer, as he signed to play with the Lethbridge Bulls of the Western Canadian Baseball League.

It was his fourth summer with the Bulls, and he was playing just down the road from Vauxhall and the Jets Academy, his old high school stomping grounds. With the Bulls, Dick authored a .296/.434/.432 slash line with a .866 OPS in 169 at-bats, adding in 11 doubles and four home runs. He finished the year with 50 hits, an identical number to his senior campaign in New York.

As the Bulls season began to wind down, Dick knew that he was going to need to figure out a plan for what to do with his life once the season was over. He was looking for his next opportunity and trying to find a way to combine his passion for being involved with baseball and making a stable income, being a fresh university graduate and all.

It turns out that opportunity was just around the corner.

“It was starting to come together where I was in the mix for a coaching job with the Prairie Baseball Academy here in Lethbridge, but Josh Burgmann (program director for the Lethbridge Longhorns) pulled me aside one day when we are on the road in Brooks to the play the Bandits, and we had a quick chat,” said Dick. “Essentially, we talked about the Longhorns program and how they needed a head coach, and I jumped at that opportunity.”

It was July 23 when the news broke that Dick was named the head coach of the Lethbridge Longhorns High School Baseball Academy, a relatively new program on the circuit having been founded in 2021.

Spanning from September through April, the club faces other academy programs in the province, such as Webber Academy, Badlands Baseball Academy, Calgary Blues, and the Prairie Baseball Academy, while also playing south of the border for more exposure and in various tournaments across the country, such as the Best of the West Tournament this past spring in Kamloops.

“This program is all about development and just taking these guys and not only making them better players on the field, but better people off the field as well,” explained Dick. “We want these guys to carry themselves with high morals and play the game the right way, and I think that’s where my skillset is best suited.”

It was a learning curve for Dick to go from player to coach, but it was a change that he was excited for to be able to spread his wisdom and knowledge to the next crop of players.

“It’s such an awesome feeling to show up to the ballpark and know that you can shape the development of a younger player,” explained Dick. “These guys look up to you, whether it’s about stuff on the field or personal situations off the field, and I have been able to develop these relationships that make it a welcoming environment here at the stadium, but one where we strive for excellence at the same time with the Longhorns.

“It’s through these relationships where I can be their confidante, or be the one to answer their questions, both in baseball and in life, as well as be the support they need to get better on the field to help them continue playing at a post-secondary level. That could be through encouragement and sharing of my knowledge through my years of training and playing, or even that kick in the butt that they need sometimes when they need it, and I can deliver that message and get their attention while finding that balance in the player/coach relationship.”

Dick would finish that summer in a player capacity for the Bulls while juggling the upcoming responsibilities that come with being the head coach of the Longhorns, who were beginning a new schedule that September.

Life can sometimes come at you fast, and considering Dick was already locked in to stay in Lethbridge for the foreseeable future, he may as well continue to broaden his coaching horizons.

After playing four seasons with the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Lethbridge Bulls, Carlin Dick was named an assistant coach of the club in September. Photo: Lethbridge Bulls

It started as locker room banter between the Bulls coaches and a veteran player during the regular season and turned into an assistant coaching position with the organization months later, a role that came together last September.

“That was one that Josh and Kevin Kvame (Bulls owner) were pushing for, and it became this running joke throughout the season between all of us, but after taking on that Longhorns head coach position, I think they realized I was serious,” said Dick. “I knew the area, they didn’t have to bring someone in from outside the organization, and they didn’t have much to show me, considering the four summers I had previously spent with the Bulls. They trusted me to know what was going on, and it’s all worked out for the best.”

It's been some time for Dick where he hasn’t donned a uniform and taken the field in a playing capacity, whether it was with the Golden Griffins or the Bulls over the past four years. He’s still busy given his coaching duties, and already has some tournaments lined up for the Longhorns later this summer. But the former player is already looking towards his future, both on and off the diamond.

“This fall, I have enrolled at the University of Lethbridge so I can become a physical education teacher,” said Dick. “I have a Kinesiology degree already from Canisius, but I want to expand that knowledge portion and be able to continue to teach not just on the diamond, but also in an education setting. The best part is that I can take what I learn from my next educational journey and apply those philosophies to my coaching capacities on the diamond, so I can better expand how to interact with kids across different age groups and improve my relationship-building skills. It’s a win-win at the end of the day.”

His playing days may be behind him, outside of beer league softball night or potentially playing catch with his younger brother Cardel, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, but Carlin Dick is finding ways to continue being involved with the game of baseball, even if it means standing in the dugout versus the batter’s box.

“I am going to miss those moments when you’re sitting in the clubhouse and getting ready for the game, just getting amped up,” said Dick. “I still get those feelings as a coach, but I have to stay a little more collected given the responsibilities that come with the title. I am incredibly excited for these opportunities and wouldn’t change it for the world.”