Blue Wave Athletics is now recruiting players for a new 14U club baseball team based at Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita for the 2019 Spring and Summer season.

Blue Wave 14U-SCV is for 7th and 8th grade ball players focused on preparing for high school baseball by playing for high school coaches, on high school fields, under a true High School Player Development system.

Tryouts will be held at Noon Sunday, January 20, at Golden Valley High School,  27051 Robert C. Lee Parkway, Santa Clarita.

HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FOR 7TH & 8TH GRADERS

All 7th and 8th grade players in the Santa Clarita Valley area are eligible to try out for the team that will practice twice weekly at Golden Valley High School and play local games and tournaments on weekends starting in January.

“This is a great opportunity to establish a quality program in a high growth, family-oriented community,” Blue Wave General Manager Steve Kruse noted. “We look forward to building a program here that produces top high school players and prospects.”

TOP PROFESSIONAL COACHES

In keeping with the Blue Wave tradition of hiring top coaches and professional trainers, SCV natives and youth baseball veterans Tanner Koonce-Rodriguez and Josue Iniguez have been named to coach Blue Wave 14U-SCV.

Blue Wave 14U-SCV Head Coach Koonce-Rodriguez is an accomplished head baseball coach, as well as successful former player and program leader. He is skilled in conditioning athletes, building discipline and improving sportsmanship for well-rounded players.

COACH RODRIGUEZ WILL PUT PLAYERS ON PROPER PATH

“His energetic personality and focus on proper player exercise techniques and conditioning will be invaluable to players that want to seriously prepare for high school baseball and beyond.” – Golden Valley High School Head Coach Matt Sorensen.

Coach Koonce-Rodriguez graduated from William S. Hart High School in 2009, where he played both baseball and football. He was also a duel sport athlete at Glendale Community College, before knee injuries led him to a career in coaching.

Since retiring from the game, Coach Koonce-Rodriguez served as Head Frosh Baseball Coach and assistant JV football Coach for Golden Valley High School from 2012 to 2013 before assuming the head freshman coaching position at Valencia High School from 2013 to 2016. He is a veteran club baseball coach as well, having coached teams for the SCV Dirtbags, ASAP Baseball Program, and the I-5 Bambinos, which he coached to a Cooperstown championship.

TOP PITCHING COACH TO ASSIST

Blue Wave 14U-SCV assistant Coach Josue Iniguez currently serves as pitching coach for Golden Valley High School, where he helped both varsity and JV teams to their best seasons in the past two years.

Iniguez began his pitching career at Hart High School, then Pasadena City College, where he made the All-Star team his sophomore year. After PCC he attended Kansas State University under Head Coach Brad Hill.

Coach Iniguez played several years of pro ball in the independent leagues, including stints with the Rio Grande White Wings and Ruidoso Osos. He also played AA ball in Puerto Rico until retirement and returning to Santa Clarita to begin his coaching career.

BLUE WAVE TRADITION OF SUCCESS FOR PLAYERS & TEAMS

Blue Wave is one of the oldest and most respected club baseball organizations in Southern California, fielding teams in 11U through 18U age divisions. Based in Irvine, Blue Wave teams have played 5,000+ games, won 175 tournaments, 13 national championships, and been nationally ranked on multiple occasions.

Established in 1996, more than 375 Blue Wave alumni have played or are playing collegiate baseball at some of the top programs in the country, including: UCI, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Cal State University Fullerton, Stanford, PENN, Gonzaga, USF, University of Miami, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, Fresno State, Nebraska, Indiana, Kansas, Sacramento State, UCSB, Santa Clara, Clemson and more. More than three dozen Blue Wave alumni have played or are playing in the MLB ranks as well.

For more information, contact Steve Kruse at (949) 202-7748 or