Episode 71: Devery Van De Keere

The Van De Keere name is synonymous with baseball in the Barrhead area, northwest of Edmonton. Keith was a standout pitcher with the Barrhead Blue Jays and was a member of the Canadian National Team before turning his attention to coaching and teaching. He was Baseball Alberta’s Ted Rudd Minor Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002 and was made a Baseball Alberta Life Member in 2011.

So it’s pretty easy to see why his son, Devery, would pick up a bat and excel at the sport. A star with his hometown teams as a youngster, he went onto Phoenix Junior College and Louisiana-Lafayette before being drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 48th round of the 2007 MLB Draft. After a couple of years with Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League, he went down his own path, traveling the world while playing and coaching.

Now 34, Van De Keere is in Vancouver and has his eyes set on wearing the maple leaf again. We chatted with him earlier this week about where he’s been, where he’s going and some of the lessons he’s learned along the way.