 Steve Janssen new Manager Dutch Team
Nederlands
 NIEUWEGEIN (Neth.) -
Steve Janssen is the new Manager of the Dutch National Baseball Team.
The Belgian-born coach succeeds Brian Farley, who recently stepped down due to personal reasons.
Janssen has been a member of the Dutch coachingstaff for several years and was with the team when it captured the World Title in 2011 and reached the semi-final of the World Baseball Classic last month.
He also was the Dutch Pitching Coach in 2003-2005.
The National Team will start preparations for the World Port Tournament soon.
The events opens on June 30.
Former catcher Steve Janssen made his debut in the highest Belgian Baseball League at age 15 in 1987, playing for Brasschaat Braves.
With this team, he participated in European Cup-tournaments and won the Belgian champion-title seven times.
As a player of the Belgian National Team, Janssen participated in the European Championship in 1995.
After he retired as player in 1997, Janssen was the Head Coach of Brasschaat in 1998 and 1999 and guided he team to the Belgian title in 1999.
Steve Janssen then made his coaching-debut in the Dutch competition in 2000 when he was the Head Coach of DOOR Tridents, back then the second team of Neptunus (and nowadays, he club's Rookie League-team).
He led Tridents in 2000-2003 in the First Division, but in 2003, he also was added as Pitching Coach to the coaching staff of the Dutch Baseball Team, which was then led by current Technical Director Robert Eenhoorn.
With the Orange squad, he celebrated the European title in 2003 and 2005 and also participated in the Olympic Games of 2004 in Athens (Greece).
The Dutch Team and Janssen separated after the 2005 Championship and he became the 3B Coach for DOOR Neptunus in the Dutch big league for the 2006 season.
In 2007, Janssen left coaching and became the Technical Director of the Belgian Baseball Federation.
But in 2008, he returned to coaching and was the Head Coach of Sparta-Feyenoord.
In 2009 and 2010, Janssen was the Head Coach of DOOR Neptunus and led the Rotterdam-team to the Dutch championship in both years.
He was named Coach of the Year in 2009.
In 2010, Steve Janssen also returned as Pitching Coach to the coaching staff of the Dutch National Team, which was then led by American Jim Stoeckel.
(April 25)
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