Development pathway

Learn the game. Build the skills. Keep progressing.

Youth Baseball takes players beyond tee-ball and develops the technical, tactical and team skills needed to play the full game.

Development with purpose

Youth Baseball is about giving players the repetitions, coaching and game experience they need to keep improving. Training becomes more baseball-specific while still keeping enjoyment and team culture at the centre.

Areas of development

Hitting approach and bat-to-ball skills
Throwing, receiving and positional fundamentals
Pitching and catching development where appropriate
Baserunning and game awareness
Team concepts, communication and competitive habits

A pathway forward

The programme is designed to help players continue moving through baseball rather than treating each season as an isolated experience. As skill and confidence grow, players can take on greater challenge and responsibility.

Player development

Coaching that develops players.

Developing young baseball players takes more than running practices. Our youth programme combines experienced baseball coaching with specialist high-performance development to give players the tools to progress on and off the diamond.

BASEBALL DEVELOPMENT

Brian Welts

National & International Coaching Experience

Our youth programme benefits from coaching experience at the highest levels of New Zealand age-group baseball.

Raptors' youth programme is led by a former New Zealand U15 National Head Coach and Head Coach of the New Zealand 12U Pac-Men, Brian Welts, who in 2026 made history at the Cal Ripken World Series by becoming the first New Zealand team to advance to the Championship Bracket.

That experience brings an understanding of what young players need to develop — from strong fundamentals and confidence through to preparing athletes for representative, international and higher-level baseball opportunities.

NZ U15 Former National Head Coach

12U NZ Pac-Men Head Coach

2026 Cal Ripken World Series Championship Bracket

HIGH PERFORMANCE

Steve Roberts

Sparta Strength — High Performance

Steve Roberts brings an exceptional high-performance background to the Raptors youth programme.

Steve runs Sparta Strength, a performance programme focused on preparing athletes for diamond sports. His playing and coaching background includes being a Black Sox World Champion, playing college ball in the United States and coaching at US college level.

Through Sparta Strength, Raptors players can benefit from specialist development focused on athletic performance, movement, strength, power and the physical skills required for baseball.

Combined with our baseball coaching programme, this gives young Raptors players access to a development environment designed to help them become better athletes as well as better baseball players.

World Champion New Zealand Black Sox

USA College Player

College Coach US Coaching Experience

Sparta Strength High Performance

PITCHING DEVELOPMENT

Joshua Welts

Pitching Coach & Private Pitching Instruction

Joshua brings a strong combination of US college baseball experience, specialist pitching development and international coaching experience to the Raptors programme.

He has played college baseball in the United States and spent two years training with Tread Athletics, developing a detailed understanding of pitching mechanics, velocity development and individualised pitcher development.

Joshua also served as Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach with the New Zealand U15 National Team, working alongside Head Coach Brian Welts. His coaching philosophy focuses on developing safe, efficient pitching mechanics while helping each athlete maximise their own natural movement and athletic ability — rather than forcing every pitcher into a one-size-fits-all model.

Through individual mechanical adjustments, movement development and a focus on intent and athleticism, Joshua has helped players make significant improvements in both mechanics and velocity, with several athletes adding more than 10 mph.

Joshua is also available for private pitching lessons for players who want more individualised development outside normal team training.

Enquire About Private Pitching Lessons

US College Baseball College playing experience in the United States

Tread Athletics Two years of specialist pitching development

NZ U15 Assistant Coach & Pitching Coach

10+ MPH Velocity gains achieved by several developing athletes

The Raptors approach

Baseball coaching + pitching development + high-performance development.

Our objective isn't simply to create teams. We want to create an environment where young players can learn the game, challenge themselves and follow their baseball journey as far as they want to take it.