Knights Announce More Staff Additions
Louisiana Knights Announce Youth StaffAdditions and Realignment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2020
Contact: Michael S. Sepcich, Esq.
(mike@louisianaknightbaseball.com)
The Louisiana Knights Baseball Organization is excited to announce that former LSU Pitcher Alden Cartwrightwill now serve as the Youth Program Director; former Colorado Rockies first round pick, Jeff Winchester, will now serve as the Knights’ Director of Sports Performance and Catching Coordinator; and long-time youth coach and director, Jimmy McCarthy, will now officially serve across the entire organization as Vice-President.
“Our Youth Program has grown tremendously in the past 2-years – probably more than any other part of our organization. It serves as the foundation of the Knights. We have been extremely fortunate to bring onboard some experienced baseball guys to anchor our Youth Program; guys like Chard Durbin, who not only hasexperienced tremendous success as a player in the professional ranks, but who is now committed to the development of our younger Knights” – said Michael Sepcich, Director of Program Development. “It is a great time to be a Knight – we have invested in new facilities, greater resources for our boys, and we are extremely excited with the direction of our Youth Program.”
Alden Cartwright has been tagged to serve as the Organization’s Director of YouthProgram. Alden graduated from LSU in 2017, after a stellar pitching career with the Tigers from 2014-2016. Alden comes to the Knights after helping multiple youth organizations in several capacities with their respectiveoperations. In discussing Alden, Jack Cressend, President of the Louisiana Knights, said “Alden Cartwright has all the qualities to take our youth program to another level across the Region. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable, but he also has anunrivaled passion for our program and an energy level that positively impacts all whom he contacts. We couldn’t be more excited to have Alden leading our efforts.” Cartwright’s responsibilities will include overseeing and providing support to all Knights’ Youth Affiliates throughout the Gulf Coast.
When asked about joining the Knights, Cartwright said, “I am extremely excited to partner with the Knights in a larger capacity to help oversee and shape the youth landscape. The Knights have defined themselves as the best amateur baseball club in Louisiana and one of the best in the country. I’m excited get to work with the incredible coaches and leaders of the Knights Family #4L!”
The core mission of the Knights’ organization is to ALWAYS put its players first. Said Sepcich, “our program is about our players – period. We take pride with being out front of the curve and looking for ways to give our players an edge in their performance. Obviously, we have been successful as an organization in helping our players develop by teaching them the fundamentals of the game, but we want to do more than that. Our management group has made a commitment to the development of our players by forging various partnerships with sports medicine providers, like Avala and SLENT, and Jeff Winchester as our Director of Sports Performance will lead our new ‘Protect OurPlayer’ Initiative.” Winchester was a 1st round pick of the Colorado Rockies after a stellar high school career at Rummel High School. Jeff is an accomplished catching instructor and hosts a number of sports performance podcasts, videos, and instructional videosunder his “The Catching Clinic” name. Jeff works in the medical device field and has developed a vast network of sports medicine specialist.
Knights President, Jack Cressend, agreed withSepcich’s comments: “Since our program’s inception in 2007, we have always stayed true to our core values by putting our players first. By making a commitment to have Jeff Winchester on board as our Director of Sports Performance – and our recent addition of Chip Wade, Ph. D., our organization has decided to do more than just talk about player development – we are giving our players the sports medicine knowledge and resources to help them maximize their potential.” And Cressend said, by launching our “Protect Our Player” Initiativeearly next year, we want to drive education for our families – Jeff and Chip Wade will help us as an organization do that better than anyone.”
When asked about joining the Knights in the capacity of Director of Sports Performance, Winchester said, “I’m very honored to have been asked to be a part of such an exciting and established organization. Having been a catching instructor for the last 20 years, and Sports Medicine device rep for the past 11, I feel that we have the unique ability to merge to two worlds of Baseball Mechanics and Sports Medicine into one cohesive movement to help develop our young athletes. In addition to our players having access to the best resources possible on the field, it is our objective to “Protect our Players” with our very own team of Health Care Providers that can provide a road map for preventative maintenance, as well as, injury management off the field. It truly is a win-win for our players.”
Long-time coach and youth director, Jimmy McCarthy, will now serve as Vice-Presidentof the entire organization. Jimmy has long been an integral part of the Knights’ operations. McCarthy’s title has been as the Director of Youth Operations. Yet, Jimmy’s duties for the organization has always stretched far beyond his title. Coach Jimmy has served as a youth coach, high school coach, uniform manager, facilities manager, camp organizer, along with various other things. His new role takes into consideration all the “hats” he wears within the organization. McCarthy said of his new title, “I’m excited about my new role with the Knights. I have enjoyed my role as youth director and helping build things on the youth side. I am looking forward to my expanded role helping out in many capacities of the program to help continue the success and momentum we have enjoyed on a Regional and National level over the past several years. We have a great management group that continues to get stronger and stronger, and I look forward to furthering those relationships for years to come.”
Cressend added of McCarthy, “We are excited to get Jimmy into an expanded role. He has been instrumental in our youth program over the last 10 years and he knows the Knights program better than anyone. Jimmy is extremely dedicated to the Knights, and I’m excited to work with him to take our program to another level.”
The Louisiana Knights program was founded in 2007 by former major league pitcher Jack Cressend. Over the last decade, the Knights program has helped hundreds of players reach their dreams of playing at the next level. Our players regularly compete on a national stage, helping our organization to be recognized as one of the nation’s top select baseball organization by Perfect Game, Future Star Series, PBR, and others.
The Knights’ mission is to provide its players with all the necessary resources to fully develop not only as baseball players but also as young men. Player development is the organization’s central focus to guide players to become the best version of themselves.