{"id":355368,"date":"2021-11-08T06:01:27","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T20:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=355368"},"modified":"2021-11-08T06:01:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T20:01:27","slug":"roke-alcantara-to-coach-triton-baseball-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/roke-alcantara-to-coach-triton-baseball-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Roke Alcantara to coach Triton Baseball team"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Roke
From left, Lawrence Camacho, dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success at the University of Guam; Roke Alcantara Jr., head coach for the Triton Baseball team; and Doug Palmer, athletics director for the University of Guam. (TRITON ATHLETICS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Triton Athletics Department today announced Roke Alcantara Jr. as the new head coach for the varsity men\u2019s Triton Baseball team.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball runs in my veins and is a big part of my life, a big part of my family tradition,\u201d Alcantara said. \u201c[\u2026] I remember the days when I was younger in the international program playing against the UOG Tritons \u2014 just looking up to those guys, watching them play as a team as our only university on the island. [\u2026] We want to see the legacy resurrect itself through our work and our teamwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alcantara has more than 30 years of experience playing baseball as a pitcher, outfielder, and first baseman. He plays in the Guam Major League and has been on the Guam national baseball team, representing Guam in international competition, since 2002. He won gold medals in the 2003 South Pacific Games in Fiji and the 2002 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei and was the league MVP in 2001 for George Washington High School, which won the interscholastic baseball championship.<\/p>\n

He also brings 10 years of coaching experience, including several local Little League teams, ages 4 to 12, which have competed in stateside competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoke will get us connected to the high schools and to the youth programs on the island that will start feeding players into UOG baseball,\u201d said Doug Palmer, the UOG athletics director. \u201cUOG baseball has a long history, a very good history with championships. We are confident Roke will bring us back to those championships and make Hall of Famers again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Roke
Roke Alcantara Jr. talks to the media about his excitement and plans as the new head coach for the University of Guam Triton Baseball team at a press conference on Nov. 1 in the Athletics Hall of Fall Conference Room in the Calvo Field House. (TRITON ATHLETICS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Triton Athletics announced the relaunch of its baseball team in October 2019, but the program\u2019s opening season was stifled by the pandemic the following spring. The university\u2019s original baseball program ran from the 1970s to the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cAthletics in any university is important for student life,\u201d said Lawrence Camacho, dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success, the division at UOG that oversees Triton Athletics. \u201cIt builds a lot of the leadership and team [mindset]\u2014not just for the student athletes, but for those who are fans from the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Alcantara starts to build the Tritons roster, he asked for the community\u2019s support and encouraged current and upcoming UOG students to come out for the team, saying there is a future in baseball beyond the university as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to start here at the university right out of high school, but it\u2019s not going to stop there. [\u2026] We also want to groom these young men to represent our island,\u201d he said, referring to international competitions like the Pacific Games and the Oceania Baseball Championship.<\/p>\n

Outside of baseball, Alcantara is a local small-business owner. He has owned Mighty Purple Caf\u00e9 in Hag\u00e5t\u00f1a since 2016. He is also a reservist with the U.S. Air Force.<\/p>\n

The Triton Baseball team plans to make its debut this coming spring in the Guam Major League. (PR)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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