Shawn Pynn (picture, right), who had resigned as head coach of the German club HSV Stealers in December, has found a new home for the 2010 season. The 29-year-old Canadian is going to coach the Verona Knights in the newly formed second division of the Italian Baseball League. Verona will be the IBL2 affiliate of the recently created franchise North East Knights with Godo playing in the first division.
Pynn coached the Stealers the past two years, leading a team, which was a candidate for relegation, to a fourth-place finish in the northern division of the Baseball-Bundesliga and into the playoffs for the first time since 2001 last season. In the quarterfinals the Buchbinder Legionaere Regensburg eliminated the HSV in three games. Before coming to Germany he played and coached Baseball at Gannon University in Pennsylvania.
Asked about his new job in Verona, Pynn said to Mister-Baseball.com:
“I think this is a great opportunity for me to coach in a new country that loves baseball. The club has been very supportive and seems equally as excited as I am that we can join together to make this a great season. While it might be a bit of a culture shock for both myself and the club, I think only great things can come from it. Not only will the players be learning from me, but I will also be learning from them, and in the end that is all you can ask for.”
Verona was 23-13 in the Serie A2 last year, good for second place in Pool A behind the Paternò Warriors, which later won the title and will play in the IBL1 in 2010. Verona missed out on that opportunity by losing in three games against Anzio in the semi-finals. The new season in the IBL2 is scheduled to start on the first weekend in April.