Our Coaches

Head Coaches

Aaron Appleyard

Aaron started playing baseball at the age of 9 as a Pitcher, First baseman and Right fielder.  He was scouted at a young age for his pitching ability while playing for the AAA Airdrie Athletics in Baseball Alberta.  He was scouted by the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics and the University of Washington Huskies.  Aaron had hopes to play at the professional level.  Unfortunately he suffered an injury to his throwing arm to which he lost all eligibility to play at the professional level.  

In 1998 Aaron was asked to coach for the Old’s Sox who played Midget AAA in Baseball Alberta.  Aaron was the Pitching Coach for the Sox and he had two players from his team scouted and went on to play baseball at the College level in the US.  After the one year of coaching his arm felt pretty good, so he gave it another try to play at a higher level.  Aaron played for the Beaumont Arrows who played against teams like the Calgary Dinos, Calgary Dawgs (Now the Okotoks Dawgs).

As of 2012, Aaron has been coaching again at a variety of age levels. In 2019, he was asked to be the Head Coach of the 18U AA Chestermere Crushers where he led them to a Provincial Championship that same season.  Aaron is a NCCP Certified Coach who continues to further develop his knowledge of the sport.

Aaron cofounded Changeup Baseball Academy in 2015 to focus on cost-effective solutions for youth interested in playing baseball at a high level.

Mike Sherman

Mike was born and raised in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia and comes from a 3-generation high-level ball family, including his grandfather Levi, who is a member of the Berwick Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in his fastball career. 

Starting at an early age, Mike soon fell in love with the sport and by the time he was in U13 he was already a provincial champion, and Represented Nova Scotia at the PeeWee Atlantic Championships. Nova Scotia went undefeated and along with the Atlantic title, he won 2 skills competitions (catcher throwing comp. + fastest infield relay comp) and was named to the Tournament AllStar team as the starting catcher. 

In U15, Mike again was awarded an opportunity to play for team Nova Scotia and to complete at the Bantam AAA National championships in Windsor, Ontario. Mike posted a +.300 batting avg during the tournament and held one of the top caught-stealing percentages of any catcher. 

The very next fall, Mike was Selected for the Nova Scotia Youth Selects (players representing the very top prospects from all over the province from every league). While with the Selects, Mike learned everything he could from the teams coach, legendary ball figure on the east coast, Bobby Gillis.  

After his first winter away in Newfoundland for University studies, Mike returned to Nova Scotia to play Men’s Int. AAA for the historic Hantsport Shamrocks. As a Rookie and one of the youngest members of the league, Mike soon won over the starting catcher role and finished the season with a .300 batting average – second on the team. Along with winning Rookie of the year, he help to lead the Shamrocks to a league, provincial and Atlantic championship – all in the same year.  

Mike became a full-time coach with CBA in 2021, using his expertise in hitting and catching to take kids to the next level of their development.

Mike is NCCP trained.

Ryan Stromquist

Ryan Stromquist grew up in several towns in Alberta playing for a number of baseball teams. At 18, Ryan turned down a scholarship to play baseball in the U.S. to pursue an academic life in Calgary. While his path has changed, Ryan has mentored youth in baseball, billiards, and writing (not all at once) for over 15 years, proving himself a valuable mentor for many children and families.

Believing in providing league-level coaching at an affordable rate, he knows how important a platform such as baseball is when it comes to steering kids in the right path for their future. Ryan continues his own baseball development so as to apply new learnings onto the youth.

Currently, he works in marketing and business development for a group of Alberta farms, is a consulting editor for Calgary’s longest running literary magazine, and is a freelance contractor and artist.

Ryan cofounded Changeup Baseball Academy in 2015 to focus on cost-effective solutions for youth interested in playing baseball at a high level.

Ryan is NCCP trained.