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Kelly Nicholson, Field Manager
Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Hometown: Playa del Rey, Calif.

There are two principal managing styles in baseball. There’s the jaw-clenching, vein-popping, mad-dog style. Then there’s the easy-going, stay calm, we’re-in-charge style. Take a look at the picture to the right and see if you can guess which is Coach Nicholson’s. [Former Assistant Coach Mike Clement, a 2006 recipient of the Hossfeld Spirit Award, is also in the picture.]

Kelly (or Coach K as he's known in the pitching fraternity) is a native of Corona, California where he won numerous scholar-athlete awards in both baseball and basketball while in high school. He was a four-year letterwinner and two-time all-conference pick during his pitching career at Loyola Marymount University. After earning his bachelor's degree in business administration from LMU, he began his career teaching mathematics at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, while completing his master's degree in education from LMU. He was the head coach of the Loyola HS Cubs for eleven seasons, where he led the team to seven playoff appearances and a league title. Kelly then spent three seasons as Loyola Marymount's pitching coach, and each year the Lions won the WCC title and went to the NCAA regionals. In the summer of 2000, Kelly worked with the Team USA pitching staff in its early preparation for international play. Kelly joined Orleans as the pitching coach in 2001. In 2002, Coach K’s staff had a 2.11 ERA (the best ever by Cardinals pitchers) and in 2004 it led the CCBL with a 2.37. His 2003 championship pitching staff was lights out, with a 2.36 ERA and a league-leading 397 Ks in 401 IP.

Co-winner of the Hossfeld Spirit Award with Coach Steve DeBlasi in 2004, Kelly became the field manager in 2005, and was the unanimous choice of his fellow managers for the CCBL Mike Curran Manager of the Year Award after leading the Cardinals to a record-setting 30-win season and the championship. Coach K was again named Manager of the Year in 2008 as his squad finished the regular season in first place overall (25-17-2), but a heartbreaking 1-0, 18-inning loss to the eventual CCBL Champion Harwich Mariners ended the team’s playoff run. The 2009 team finished with an identical record (25-17-2) but experienced another playoff disappointment, losing to eventual champion Bourne.

Kelly recently established his “ABC” or Academy of Baseball and Character, where young players “learn to play the game the right way.” We can attest to that. Orleans welcomes a true gentleman and a terrific leader back for his tenth summer.

To contact Coach K, email him at KNICHOLSON@loyolahs.edu

Benny Craig, Assistant Coach
Cal State Los Angeles
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.

Coach Craig returns to the Firebirds for his second season after retiring from professional baseball and establishing his coaching career, last year with the Golden Eagles of Cal State Los Angeles and currently with San Diego’s Grossmont HS. A native of San Diego, Coach Craig spent the first three years of his collegiate career as a switch-hitting outfielder for the UCLA Bruins before transferring to Loyola Marymount for his senior season. He was selected by Cincinnati in the 19th round of the 1997 MLB draft, and played for the Burlington Bees in the Reds’ organization and later for the Kissimmee Cobras (Houston Astros). Following that, he played for several independent teams, including the River City Rascals, St. George Pioneers, Pennsylvania Road Warriors, Long Beach Breakers, Amarillo Dillas (league all star and home run champion), El Paso Diablos, and San Angelo Colts, where he was a player-coach. Coach Craig holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA, and he has worked the UCLA Winter and High School Showcase camps since 2000. Welcome back to Orleans, Coach!

View a Video Interview of Coach Craig

Jason Brown, Assistant Coach
Hometown: Long Beach, Calif.

Coach Brown returns for his second summer with the Firebirds after retiring from a professional baseball career that spanned twelve seasons. A catcher for the Trojans of Southern California, where he played on two Pac 6 championship teams and competed for the national championship in Omaha in 1995, Jason also played two summers in Fairbanks, Alaska. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1997, and played for several major league organizations, including the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, and finally the New York Yankees with the International League’s Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees (AAA). Coach Brown will work as the pitching coach this summer, filling in for Coach Chris Beck, who’s remaining in California this summer with his wife Jayme, awaiting the birth of their first child.

View a Video Interview with Coach Brown

Bill Sandillo, Assistant Coach
Predator Training Camps
Hometown: Chandler, AZ

The Firebirds welcome Coach Bill Sandillo for his first season in Orleans. Bill is a Massachusetts native, growing up in West Springfield and playing his collegiate baseball at American International College. Team captain and MVP in his senior season, Bill was selected to the Northeast-8 All-Star team and the second team All-New England. Invited to extended spring training with the Reds as a free agent, he earned a spot with the Reds’ A team in Cedar Rapids (IA). Injuries shortened his playing career, so he changed his focus to coaching and executive duties. Since then, he’s been involved with seven different professional baseball organizations in various capacities, including the 2001 World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks as a coach operating the team’s training centers and throwing BP at a home game or two. In 2007, Bill was the civilian coach of the U.S. Military All-Star team which played the CCBL. Currently, Bill divides his time between working with minor and major league players, and running Predator baseball instructional camps across Arizona and nationwide, teaching baseball skills to thousands of young players. He resides in Chandler, AZ with his wife Wendy, and their two sons, Albert (2-1/2) and Roman (1).

View a Video Interview with Coach Sandillo

Chris Beck, Pitching Coach
Bishop Amat HS
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Chris Beck will begin his fifth summer on Cape Cod as a member of Coach Nicholson’s staff. He serves as the pitching coach for the Firebirds and also helps with player recruitment and day-to-day operations during the summer season. Coach Beck came to Orleans after serving one year as the pitching coach for the Brewster Whitecaps. His pitching expertise paired with that of Coach K helps mold one on the most formidable pitching staffs in the league every year.

Prior to coaching, Chris played collegiate baseball at Loyola Marymount University where he helped the Lions to back-to-back West Coast Conference championships in 1998 and 1999. He then joined the coaching staff at Loyola High School , where he taught world history and coached Cub baseball for six years (2000-05, the last three as head coach). In 2005, he was named Los Angeles Times Coach of the Year after leading the Cubs to a 22-6 record and a Mission League championship. In 2006, Chris returned to Loyola Marymount and served as pitching coach under Head Coach Frank Cruz. For the last three years (2007-09) he has served as pitching coordinator at Bishop Amat High School where he has helped lead the Lancers to two consecutive CIF Championships.

Upon taking charge of Orleans moundsmen in 2005, the team has led the league in pitching in four of those five years, 2005 (2.22) 2007 (2.79) 2008 (3.10), and 2009 (2.69). In 2005, Coach Beck helped guide the team to a Cape League championship.

Beck earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History from Loyola Marymount in 2000 and completed his Master’s Degree in History from Loyola Marymount in 2005. He has taught World and U.S. History for ten years. Chris and his wife Jayme just bought their first house in Yorba Linda , California .

Coach Beck will be on leave during the 2010 summer.