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Bill Copp
The Sparks 17u head coach is Bill Copp. He is entering his 14th year in coaching and has coached at both the High School and the Junior College level. Bill was a member of the state championship Aurora Central Catholic team in 1982, where he was an all-state pitcher. He was also a member of the 1982 Connie Mack National Champions, Bob Musser Sports in Joliet Illinois.
He played collegiately at Triton JC in River Grove, Illinois and then on to Iowa State University. At Triton, the team was a national powerhouse and ranked Number #1 for the entire season. At Iowa State University he was named Big Eight Pitcher of the Week twice and named as the team's rookie of the year, most valuable pitcher and the most valuable player on the 1986 team.
He was selected as the first pick in the seventh round of the 1986 Major League Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gene Baker was the scout that signed him. Bill was named as Pittsburgh’s minor league player of the month on two occasions and was promoted to AAA his first full season in ball. He was also named as the starting pitcher on A and AA All-Star games in his career. In 1988 he was named Pittsburgh Pirates top minor league prospect. He won championship rings in the Pirates organization with the A -Salem Buccaneers and the Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League AA. After having five shoulder surgeries and an elbow surgery, he was forced to leave the game early.
Bill resides in Aurora, IL with his wife Kelly and their two dogs Millie and Marley.
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Jim Reynolds
Jim is in his 18th year of coaching youth baseball and his fourth with the program. He can usually be found in the pre-game tunnel throwing BP to our hitters, or as our third base coach you will find him sending Sparks around the bases.
"Jim has been absolutely essential to the growth of our organization", says head coach Bill Copp. " He brings a level of professionalism and really understands what it is that we are trying to accomplish as a program." Jim resides in Orland Park with his wife Lori, and has three sons, David, Steve, and Dan. David is currently playing at Northern Illinois University.
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John Cangelosi
Established in 1999, John is the owner and president of Cangelosi Baseball Academy. The Orioles program and John have united to form a professionally run organization that will benefit young players from the midwest; helping them reach their goals of playing at the next level.
John played his college ball at Miami Dade CC in Florida where he was selected in the 4th round by the Chicago White Sox. He played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues with 7 different teams. John won a World Series in 1997 with the Florida Marlins. After his playing days, John coached in the Chicago Cubs organization. "John brings us an abundance of knowledge and experience that is essential to the development of our players" says head coach Bill Copp. The kids in our program are very fortunate to have this type of resource made available to them.
Through the years, John has established many contacts and relationships that will benifit every player in the program. John resides in Orland Park with his wife Colleen and their two children, Austin and Alexandra.
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