UBC Bantam Thunder

Welcome to the website of the UBC Bantam PBL Thunder. Grade 8s and 9s (15U) are the make-up of this team and compete together from January-early August in the BC Bantam Premier League (Bantam PBL) . The Bantam PBL division is the top-tier wood bat league in the province and involves teams from the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Interior. After the conclusion of Fall Ball and tryouts in the first two weeks of December, we go through rigorous pre-season training from January until March in order to prepare for the upcoming season. This includes (but not limited to) indoor and outdoor training/practices at our state of the art facility and field, individualized and team goal setting, weekly theory/classroom sessions, thorough video review and analysis, technology-driven player performance assessments/breakdowns, comprehensive and structured throwing & hitting on-ramp progression, simulating a competitive environment, exhibition games, weekly lifts/strength and conditioning, guest speakers/instructors as well as bi-weekly team-bonding events. Throughout the season, we will practice at least twice a week, play approximately 48 league games, 5-10 exhibition games and compete in at least 3 tournaments (April, May and June/July). The year concludes with the BC Bantam PBL Provincial Championship and the coveted Baseball BC Qualifiers, where the winner(s) will have an opportunity to represent their province as Team BC at either Westerns or Nationals.

Our Vision

UBCThunderbaseball aims to build upon the strong foundation of our UBC Varsity Programsand baseball in Vancouver by providing a development platform that allows playersan opportunity to prepare for post-secondary and professional baseball. UBCThunderbaseball aims to build upon the strong foundation of our UBC Varsity Programsand baseball in Vancouver by providing a development platform that allows playersan opportunity to prepare for post-secondary and professional baseball. UBCThunderbaseball aims to build upon the strong foundation of our UBC Varsity Programsand baseball in Vancouver by providing a development platform that allows playersan opportunity to prepare for post-secondary and professional baseball.

“To build a culture of growth, resilience and responsibility in aspiring student-athletes who seek to achieve the highest levels of athletics and academics."

UBC Thunder baseball aims to build upon the strong foundation of our UBC Varsity Programs and baseball in Vancouver by providing a development platform that allows players an opportunity to prepare for post-secondary and professional baseball.

For many of these players, this is their first exposure to high performance baseball throughout the course of a single season. Our program’s vision is to prepare these young ballplayers to move up to higher levels of play (ie. Junior/Senior PBL and eventually post-secondary baseball). Our program also wishes to provide as many opportunities to our players as possible to hopefully open the door for advancement in their baseball careers. We envision by the end of the season, each of our players will garner the necessary tools (such as baseball skills, attitude and work ethic) to compete and succeed at that level and beyond. Player development is a key component of our program; through off-season training, in-season practices and in-game feedback, we will teach sound fundamental baseball and introduce our players to more advanced strategies and thinking that will help them process the game at a level they have never been able to before. Among all things, compete level is something we preach towards these players, emphasizing the importance of hustle, grit and determination on the field. Players in the UBC PBL program are required to respect the game, their teammates, opponents, coaches and umpires at all times, they will learn to conduct themselves both on and off the field with class and professionalism. 

We will develop our program through:

 - High tempo, organized, challenging and innovative practices that will build progressions, help players master fundamental skills through repetition, introduce and implement advanced strategies and systems on a daily basis. These practices will be built around a competitive environment that pushes each player to be better.

- The development of important life skills, including but not limited to the following: discipline, respect, teamwork, goal setting, problem solving, time management (the essential balance between baseball, academics, family, friends etc.) commitment and leadership in an environment where everyone is on the same page working towards one common goal.

- Push players to reach their potential by enforcing the importance of preparation, work ethic, focus and determination. The coaching staff will continually help players achieve their goals, it is expected that players be not only open to the criticism but apply the advice given from the coaches.

- Emphasize the importance of team first, putting individual accolades second. With team success comes individual success.

- Using modern player development tools/tech such as: Rapsodo, HitTrax, Blast Motion, K-Vest, SidelineHD, iScore, general and introduction to advanced game stats. Coaches will use these additional player development tools/tech to help players grasp and gain a better understanding of weaknesses/flaws in their development/game and formulate progressions and/or drills to improve. These development tools will not be reliant on but rather a means of validation to subjective analysis. High quality game video will also be used constantly to help improve players/team in a multitude of ways (numerous video sessions).

Coaching Staff

Luke Yam will be the head coach of the 2025 UBC Bantam Thunder. This will be his 6th year coaching Bantam AAA/PBL and his 12th year coaching at any level. Luke has coached at all three levels (Bantam, Junior and Senior) in the PBL and his individual achievements consists of: 2016 15U Coach of the Year, coach for Team BC that attended Chicago, IL (15U Select Team), Repentigny, QC (13U Nationals), Cowichan Valley & Richmond (BC Summer Games x2), Oshawa, ON (15U Nationals). 

The coaching staff for the 2025 UBC Bantam Thunder consists of great youth and vast experience making it without question one of the most sought after staffs. We are proud to announce that coaching alongside Luke for 2025 are the following coaches (click on their name for accolades and individual achievements):

Greg Miles - Assistant/Bench Coach

Henry Ahn - Assistant/Hitting Coach

Adam Inouye - Assistant/Infield Coach

Christian Raytek - Roving Hitting Coach

James Bradwell - Roving Pitching Coach

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.