The Okotoks Dawgs Founder and Managing Director, John Ircandia, recently interviewed our Ray Chadwick, father of Dawgs Academy player Tyrelle Chadwick and former MLB player.

Q: Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview. A lot of Dawgs fans and supporters are aware of your son as an outstanding Dawgs Academy player, but not as many know about your own baseball background. Can you give us a few details regarding your baseball resume.

A: 13 years of professional baseball- Angels, White Sox, Red Sox, Royals, Mexican League, Italian League(2 years and 1 year as a player coach) 

Q: You signed your first professional contract with the California Angels after being selected in the 16th round of the MLB Draft. If you had to pick a highlight or two from your experiences from your playing days, what would they be?

A: Being named 1985 Angels Minor League Player of the Year and 1986 I made my Major League Debut.

Q: In your second baseball career you have been extremely influential in coaching young players and passing on your knowledge of the game. In fact you are the Head Coach of the Thompson Rivers University in the Canadian Collegiate Baseball Conference. With your own extensive knowledge of the game and being around it as long as you have been, what made you decide for your son Tyrelle to join the Dawgs Academy?

A: I’ve always had the attitude that if you want to be good at something you should surround yourself with good people. I want Tyrelle to be not only an outstanding baseball player, but be a great man as well. Okotoks Dawgs have an abundance of good people. Tyrelle is surrounded by awesome baseball minds and well respected people.

Q: You and your family have been residing in Kamloops, BC for quite some time now. With the baseball knowledge you have, what made you decide it would be in Tyrelle’s best interest to leave home and attend the Dawgs Academy?

A: Tyrelle and I have known the Okotoks Dawgs organization for over 16 years. We would travel to Alberta or meet a team here in B.C. as a peewee and a bantam so that he could compete and play as a member of the Dawgs academy. Once he was midget age there was no question of where he would play his high school age baseball.  In order to grow, improve and graduate to the next level, Okotoks is where we thought would give him the best coaching, guidance and opportunity to do so.

Q: Now that Tyrelle has been in the Dawgs program, what benefits and growths have you seen in him as a ball player and as a young man?

A: Tyrelle has grown and matured as a young man both on and off the field. He has shown great improvement both on the mound and at the plate. He has been a sponge in soaking up baseball knowledge from the Dawgs coaching staff.