Meet Our Team
Charlie Strandlund – General Manager
Charlie was an elite level athlete with over 30 years of experience playing and coaching a wide variety of sports. Charlie holds a BSc in Sports Science from the College of Idaho. Charlie looks past just the fundamentals of the game and looks deep into the whole picture. Charlie is a natural leader who is outgoing and comfortable speaking to large groups and thrives on challenges and seeking solutions in order to help athletes achieve success. Charlie is motivated and driven to provide an ITC environment designed to help youth athletes succeed and achieve their personal success.
“I find great inspiration from good quotes, and one in particular that I really believe in is”
Our deepest fear- -‘Marianne Williamson’
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens
us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that others don’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant
to shine, as children do. It’s not just is some us us, it’s in everyone. And as
we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people the power to do
the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others”
Head Coach- BCPBL Victoria Premier Eagles 2016-2020
2014 Victoria HarbourCats- Assistant Coach
2006 BSc Kinesiology. College of Idaho, Minor in Coaching
NCCP Comp Dev Trained
University
2004-2006 College of Idaho
2003-2004 College of Southern Idaho
2002-2003 Malaspina University
2001–2002 Daytona Beach Community College
Senior career
2010 Victoria Seals Professional Baseball Club
2008 Senior Men’s National Champions
2004 Team Canada- World University Games – Taiwan
Anthony Pluta – Baseball & Softball Development
Anthony Pluta joins the One8 Baseball & Softball and Island Training Centre coaching staff as our lead coach. Pluta, is a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) and currently the pitching coach for the Canadian Women’s National baseball team and the co-technical director of high-performance baseball in BC. He is highly involved with the NCCP as the Master Coach Developer for baseball in BC, winning the 2021 Baseball Canada Coach Developer of the Year Award. Anthony has a Master of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Victoria with a focus in Neuroscience. His published thesis on using EEG to predict the performance of baseball batters garnered international media attention. Prior to his work in Canada, Anthony played professional baseball for 13 years. He was a 3 rd round draft pick of the Houston Astros in the 2000 MLB draft playing for 6 MLB teams in their affiliates. Pluta and Strandlund, ITC General Manager, were teammates on the Victoria Seals – the former professional baseball team in Victoria that ran from 2008-2010. Bringing Pluta on board elevates the offerings here at the ITC, elevates what we’re able to do, and gives us a full time Head Baseball & Softball coach.
- 2019 MSc Kinesiology, University of Victoria
2019-current Pitching Coach Canadian Women’s National Team
2012-2016 BCPBL Victoria Eagles Head Coach
Giuliano Caseiro – Youth Coach
Giuliano graduated in his hometown Rio De Janeiro, Brazil with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He moved to Canada 3 years ago to continue his studies and has loved his time here so far. After a decade working in IT and Project Management, he decided to change his career path and took up coaching sports. He started playing soccer when he was 6 and since then it has been a huge passion in his life. He loves coaching kids sports and enjoys the new challenges it can bring up on a daily basis.
Giuliano joined the staff last Summer for the Pacific FC Summer Camps. Giuliano has been involved with Wave and Trident programs, as well as TOCA Canada.
- 2018 – 2020 Exercise and Wellness Diploma at Camosun College
- 2006 – 2012 Electrical Engineering at UVA, RJ – Brazil
- 2019 – Pacific FC Summer Camps – Victoria. BC
- 2019 – Wave and Trident programs – Victoria, BC
- 2019 – Physical Literacy to children from 2 to 10 years old – Victoria, BC
- 2016 – FC Barcelona Soccer School – Burnaby, BC
1997–2005 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil