Polk headlines Durham College coaching clinic

Hall of Fame coach Ron Polk, now with the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers, will be at Durham College for a coaching clinic Saturday inn Oshawa.

Sam Dempster has travelled the world as a Major League Baseball envoy and coach as Great Britain’s entry into international play.

And now Dempster (Oshawa/Kingston, Ont.), along with athletic director Ken Babcock (Brockville, Ont.), is bringing parts of the world to Durham College where he coaches the Lords, 

The Saturday Dec. 2 clinic will feature Ron Polk, an NCAA Hall of Fame coach, for a second year. Polk is one of three coaches in history to take three different teams to the College World Series: the Georgia Southern Eagles, Georgia Bulldogs and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. After a 35-year season and a 1,373-700-2 (.662) he went to eight College World Series and was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 2009. 

Polk is now a volunteer assistant at Alabama-Birmingham Blazers, 

Also on the coaching speaking card are

_ Pat Doyle, Israel national team coach in the 2017 WBC and former MLB envoy.

_ Zach Graefser, European Academies consultant for MLB.

_ And Brad Chalmers, The Barn EPC head of strength and conditioning training.

Durham College will host the event at 2000 Simcoe Street North in Oshawa.

Doyle pitched in the Boston Red Sox system in 1966-67, coached high school in California and San Joaquin Delta College in 1976, staying until 2000. He managed the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, was the head coach of Ireland in 1996, as well as being an envoy in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. 

Graefser is in his fourth year as an MLB European Academies as a consultant. He has served as pitching coach for Great Britain in the WBC qualifier and pitching coach at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. 

Chalmers has worked with NHL, NFL, CFL and Canadian national team players in the last 28 years. 

Coaches have until 6 pm Friday to register for the clinic.