James O. Van Ostrand (born August 7, 1984) is a Canadian former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and current Mental Skills Coach for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Van Ostrand competed for the

Canadian national baseball team The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international baseball. They are overseen by Baseball Canada, the governing body of baseball in Canada. Canada was an inaugural member of the World Baseball Classic, making its debut in t ...

in numerous international competitions and is now on the staff at the University of Arizona.

Career

Van Ostrand attended

McMath Secondary School École Secondaire Robert A. McMath Secondary School is a public high school located on Garry Street in the Steveston neighbourhood of Richmond, British Columbia. It is part of School District 38 Richmond The school is fed into by the nearby elem ...

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

. While in high school, Van Ostrand played for the North Delta Blue Jays of the

British Columbia Premier Baseball League The British Columbia Premier Baseball League, commonly referred to as the BCPBL or the PBL, is a competitive youth baseball league consisting of 13 teams located throughout British Columbia, Canada. Over the years, the BCPBL has served as a tal ...

. He was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the 29th round (855th overall) of the

2003 MLB draft The 2003 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 3 and 4. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. ''Source:MLB.com 2003 Draft Tracker' First round selections Supplemental first r ...

, but did not sign, choosing to attend

Allan Hancock College Allan Hancock College is a public community college in Santa Maria, California. It offers associate degrees at its Lompoc Valley campus and at nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base. The college is part of the California Community College System ...

. Van Ostrand transferred to

California Polytechnic State University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

, where he played for the

Cal Poly Mustangs baseball The Cal Poly Mustangs baseball team represents California Polytechnic State University, which is located in San Luis Obispo, California. The Mustangs are an NCAA Division I college baseball program, and along with the other Cal Poly athletic t ...

team. He was selected by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in the eighth round (249th overall) of the 2006 MLB draft. Van Ostrand played for the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats are a professional baseball team based in Albany, New York. The ValleyCats compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was established in 2002, along with the ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

in 2006, leading the team to the New York–Penn League Finals. Van Ostrand was named to the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

All-Star team while playing for the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

in 2007. That year, he was also named to the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. He was named to the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star team while playing for the

Salem Avalanche Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem ...

in 2008. He was promoted to the Double-A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 2008. In 2012, he began playing for the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

minor league team of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. On May 26, 2012, Van Ostrand signed with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

International career

Van Ostrand played for the

in the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through th ...

, winning the bronze medal in 2009. He also played for Team Canada in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, finishing sixth, and the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

, where Canada won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

. Van Ostrand drove in both of Canada's runs in the gold medal-clinching victory over the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

Post playing career

In 2014, Van Ostrand started to volunteer coach for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. As of 2016, he was the Director of Player Development for the University of Arizona."Improbable baseball victory dedicated to 17-year-old Josh Weaver"
''The Daily Wildcat''. Retrieved 2016-07-28. He currently works for the

as the mental skills coach. He previously worked for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ostrand, Jimmy 1984 births Living people Allan Hancock Bulldogs baseball players Arizona Wildcats baseball coaches Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Baseball people from Vancouver Boston College Eagles baseball coaches Cal Poly Mustangs baseball players Canadian baseball coaches Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Corpus Christi Hooks players Harrisburg Senators players Lexington Legends players Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada in baseball Salem Avalanche players Syracuse Chiefs players Sugar Land Skeeters players Tri-City Dust Devils players World Baseball Classic players of Canada 2013 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games