Best known for his unique Tomahawk delivery, former MLB pitcher and Baseball Jobs Overseas member Josh Collmenter talks about his baseball career starting from his childhood, through college, leading to his MLB debut and then overseas to New Zealand. We talk about who is influencers were along the way, his "Tomahawk" delivery, making it to the MLB with a sub-90 mph fastball, his MLB debut experience, advice to his younger self and current aspiring pitchers, his experience in New Zealand and the Australian Baseball League, his future plans and much more.

Overseas baseball podcast

Josh Collmenter; The Tomahawk-Throwing, 7-Year MLB Vet

After the summer of 2000 playing baseball in Vienna, Austria, Canadian baseball player Nick DeForest decided to forgo his final two years of college baseball eligibility and make Vienna his home. Twenty years later, Nick sits down to tell his story on the IBC podcast including what career in Austria he ended up in and how BBJO founder David Burns and Nick’s first encounter ended up on the front page of the Vienna newspaper.

A summer overseas turns into 20 years and counting

In this episode, we hear the story of two corner infielders/ power-hitters from two different corners of the U.S. who first met in 2019 on a softball field in Austria as import players, leading their new team to the Austrian Softball League Championships.   Brittany McGuire (Florida Gulf Coast University) hit a clutch, come-from-behind grand slam late in game 1 of the best-of-three semi-final series against the reigning champs, while Kailyn Campbell (Central Washington University) hit for the cycle in game 2 of the series en route to securing the sweep.   The duo were the only two imports for the Wr. Neustadt Crazy Chicklets in 2019, so Brittany had to assume the role as a two-way player, despite not having pitched in college. Despite the lack of imported collegiate level pitching, the 3-4 combo of Kailyn and Brittany brought a much-needed 1-2 punch to the offense of a young Chicklets team, a team based in a small town of approximately 43,000 which is located about 30 minutes outside of Vienna, Austria. This was Kailyn’s second season as the Chicklets import, and she welcomed the protection in the lineup that Brittany brought, which was missing in 2018.   Although very similar in what they bring to the table as a softball player, this single season experience will be a different moment in their softball career scrapbook. For Brittany, this was a one-and-done experience as she moves on to pursue a coaching career in the U.S. whereas, for Kailyn, this second season overseas is just one of many more to come.

Two Softball Power Hitters Meet in Austria as Imports and Lead Their Team to the Ship

baseballjobsoverseas.com/ New York native Ryan Rupp did not play college baseball but took advantage of his dual citizenship with Austria to get his foot in the door in second division Austria in 2013. From there, he worked hard on his craft and in 2017 he won the Best Pitcher award and his second championship in the first division of Austria with the Attnang Athletics. He also became one of the go-to starters for the Austrian national team. In 2019 he won his third Austrian championship, this time with his new team, the Dornbirn Indians. In recent years, as Ryan approached the age of 30, he struggled with the pressure to start a career off the field and leave baseball behind. He found himself in New York, unhappy and with extreme bouts of anxiety. In this interview, we discuss how he was able to get through that, and the steps he is taking now to enjoy his summers of baseball while also progressing off of the field. Some of the topics discussed in this episode include: The different path of his baseball career and how he was able to develop into the pitcher he is today despite no college or professional experience. Finding success with the Austrian National Team and in the first Austrian division alongside teammate/coach and founder David Burns. How to continue to be in demand even when your numbers are not the best. How to switch from the anxiety and pressure that comes with starting a career and leaving baseball behind to doing what you love while also progressing off of the field.

No college baseball experience to 10 seasons overseas and counting

https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ In this episode of the International Baseball Community Podcast, I hop on a call with club representatives from around Europe to discuss the current status of the Coronavirus in their country, the effect it has had on their baseball seasons thus far, and any further insight into when the seasons could possibly start. Specifically, I speak with Scotty of Korlarka Praha (Czech Extraliga), Eric of the Bonn Capitals (German Bundesliga), Mauro of T&A San Marino (Italian Series A), David of the Metz Cometz (French First Division), Trevor of the Stockholm Monarchs (Swedish Elite Series), Ron of Neptunus Rotterdam (Dutch Major League A.K.A. Honbal Hoofdklasse) and Andreas of the Attnang Athletics (Baseball League Austria).

COVID-19 & the 2020 Baseball Seasons in Europe

David Burns and Jimmy Jensen from Baseball Jobs Overseas discuss how to position yourself for success in receiving offers from clubs overseas and once signed, how to make the most of that opportunity to further your career. This episode is particularly beneficial to those players who have yet to play professional baseball and are looking overseas as a career option but are still looking to play at the highest level possible.

How to attract offers from clubs overseas and then leverage that opportunity

https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ After a lustrous career as an international import player and coach, Owen Reid decided to go to work for himself as an International Baseball Consultant and Mobile baseball coach. Now settled and based in Singapore, Owen has now traveled to five different continents and 21 countries as a baseball coach including some very unknown baseball markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyzstan. His international baseball story began back in 2009, when fresh out of college, Owen signed on with the Vienna Wanderers in Austria as an import player. This led to his first gig as a youth coach the following winter in New Zealand, then in 2010 as a player-coach with another team in Austria, eventually settling in Australia from 2010 through 2014. It is in Australia where Owen's international coaching career really began to take shape after playing and coaching with three different teams, assuming a role with the Perth Heat in player development and then as their operations and marketing manager. It was also in Australian where Owen met his wife, who continues to fully support his international baseball endeavours to-date. The couple moved to Singapore in 2014 when Owen landed an Operations job at a major training facility, where he led a staff of coaches and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Albert Pujos and Augie Garrido. In 2016 Owen found that his passions were no longer in line with his role at the facility, and this is where he found himself at a crossroads in his career, unsure what he wanted to do next, but knew it was in coaching. This is when Owen decided to take a risk and start Reid Baseball and market himself to the baseball world as a mobile coach and international baseball consultant. This role encompasses a number of different services including one on one-on-one coaching, coaching small groups, running specialized clinics, working with and creating training programs and curriculums for teams or leagues, coach education, building academies and mental conditioning. The highlights of his international baseball endeavours include coaching in Dhaka, Bangladesh where he had to take a rickshaw from where he was staying through the dirty, crowded and polluted streets to the school where he was coaching or when he went to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to coach a group of kids on a small soccer field tucked in between two enormous rock formations which as he described '"ooked like out of a movie." Some of the takeaways for baseball people from all different aspects of the game including how to: -Open these doors and build your resume -Build your own baseball brand and found his own post-playing career baseball path -Connect with organizations around the globe -Work with kids of various groups sizes who don't speak English

Using the overseas route to create your own baseball brand & business with Mobile Coach Owen Reid

https://baseballjobsoverseas.com/ American born and Wofford College alum, Eric Brenk, has been living and playing baseball in Germany since obtaining his dual citizenship in 2014, only 4 months after graduating from college. Eric not only helped bring home a championship for his Bonn Capitals in 2018, he has also been a major player for the German National Team, most recently at the 2019 European Championships, a stepping stone tournament to the 2020 Olympic Qualifier. Less than an hour from Cologne, Eric lives year-round in Bonn where he is heavily involved in baseball and is currently working for an international company after obtaining his masters in Germany. In this episode, Eric and BBJO founder David Burns discuss the application process for dual citizenship and how having dual citizenship has benefited Eric from a baseball and life standpoint. We also dive into the lifestyle and quality of life when living and playing baseball in Germany.

Eric Brenk talks dual citizenship and living and playing in Germany

http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com There are a large number of baseball players overseas these days looking to take their career overseas with a large variety of backgrounds. Those who may not have the strongest of backgrounds or the strongest of stats, may have to take matters into their own hands to get their foot in the door. Dave and Jimmy tackle that topic in this episode.

How to get your foot in the door overseas with an average background

The Australian Baseball League has made huge strides in recent years, with the expansion to include a team from Korea and New Zealand in 2018 as well as the signings of former MLB players such Josh Collmenter, Gift Ngoepe and Pete Kozma. The league also featured Japanese NPB stud pitcher Shota Imanaga and some of Europe's top talent in Markus Solbach (GER), Alex Maestri (ITL), and Dwayne Kemp (NED) who all had standout seasons. Rounded out with a number of young affiliated players, top indy pro players, and top Australian talent, you have a very unique professional league that more and more professional players are looking to as a winter option. With that being said, we at Baseball Jobs Overseas receive a lot of inquiries from players wanting to play in the ABL. In this episode, David and Jimmy discuss what it takes to sign in the ABL, and how some players have worked their way into the Australian Baseball League through the state leagues in the past and have gone on to sign affiliated contracts. This episode provides content relevant to any player at any stage in their career who is considering Australia as a winter option, whether a college grad, released professional or current professional.

Working Your Way Into The Australian Baseball League

http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com Jimmy Jensen went from cut from his high school baseball team, to All-American, to men's league baseball before he decided to give overseas a try. Little did he know that signing his first overseas contract in 2015 would change his life forever in multiple ways. List to part two of his story, continuing where we left off at the end of his first season on IBC Podcast episode 67

Climbing the ladder to multiple offers around the globe

http://www.baseballjobsoverseas.com Baseball New Zealand CEO Ryan Flynn returns for the third time, this time to provide an update on the exciting times going on in the world of baseball in New Zealand, in particular the new Australian Baseball League professional franchise team based in Auckland. Some of the topics discussed in this episode are: Growth of baseball in New Zealand in recent years New Australian Baseball League franchise team, the Auckland Tuatara and what the name means Signing of Josh Collmenter through Baseball Jobs Overseas and the impact of having a marquee player and MLB vet such as Josh on board Opportunity for imports with the Auckland Tuatara (ABL Franchise) and the new ABL roster point system Anticipated growth of baseball New Zealand and how import players and coaches will play a role at the club level Baseball Jobs Overseas role with future importing to New Zealand

New Zealand's new pro baseball team and more with Baseball NZ CEO Ryan Flynn

In this interview with professional pitcher Arik Sikula, he speaks of his experiences both in Australia and Colombia pitching in the winter and why these experiences helped him improve as a pitcher and an athlete.

How overseas can be a good option for established and aspiring pro's

Three years ago on IBC Podcast Episode #26 I interviewed Zak Colby who was fresh off of his first season playing independent professional baseball in Japan in the Shikoku Island League. Zak has continued to play there working his way into a foreign recruitment role for the whole league while playing for the Kochi Fighting Dragons. His biggest signing to date was Manny Ramirez who he signed to play for the Fighting Dragons for the 2017 season, to hit fourth behind Zak in the lineup. In this episode Zak tells us all about the league, the recruitment process and what they look for in an import, and finally, the signing of and playing alongside Manny Ramirez.

Importing to the Shikoku Island League and Signing Manny Ramirez

Recently one of the top pitchers in independent professional baseball decided to give up the lifestyle that comes with playing pro baseball in the U.S., which he said he loves, in order to play club baseball in the Czech Republic which play mostly on weekends. Sound crazy? Soon to be 30 years old, Tim Brown has been playing professional baseball for 8 years now and while still at the top of his game, has decided to play baseball in Europe in 2017. "At this point, I just want to travel and see the world and this is the perfect way to do it," when asked why he has given up the lifestyle of the independent professional baseball player for European baseball which plays on weekends. Tim Brown has had a very successful U.S. independent professional baseball career which includes a no-hitter in the Frontier League. In fact, his multiple seasons of a sub 3.00 era had him labeled in a 2015 article as "One of the best pitchers in independent professional baseball history." Tim claims that a big part of his success comes from playing baseball in Australia during the winter for the past five years which allowed him to face live hitters year-round. In this episode, Tim walks us through his decision to use overseas baseball to develop his game while also using it as a tool to see the world. He also provides great insight from the perspective of a professional player playing the game in a completely different environment.

U.S. Independent pro star chooses overseas baseball route

The International Baseball Community Podcast features interviews with college and professional baseball players and coaches who have taken their career overseas. The purpose of the podcast is to shed light on all the opportunities that are out there in lesser-known baseball markets such as in Europe and Australia. Host David Burns is the founder of http://www.BaseballJobsOverseas.com, a platform where players and coaches can connect with clubs around the world.

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Overseas baseball podcast

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