Meet the ace pitcher for the Sénart Templiers and pitching coach for the French national team
BTVF: Who are you, Shane Priest?
S.P.: My name is Shane Priest. I was born in Los Angeles, California, but I’ve moved around quite a bit. I lived in Tennessee for 8 years and now I’ve been living in St. Petersburg, Florida, since 2012.
BTVF: Before joining the Sénart Templiers, what was your career path?
S.P.: I started playing baseball at 4 years old and haven’t stopped since. It would take a long time to talk about my entire baseball career, so I’ll mention a few highlights. Between the ages of 14 and 18, I played at Indian Rocks Christian High School in Florida. During the summers, I played for the Nashville Knights summer program. In my final year with the Nashville Knights, we won the Perfect Game WWBA 18u tournament, earning us the #1 ranking in the US that year.
After high school, I played two years at Calhoun Community College. I was the closer for the team. We made it to the state championship game but fell one game short of having a chance to play in the Junior College Baseball World Series.
After Calhoun, I was blessed to receive a scholarship to play at the University of North Alabama. I acted as a starter both years there. In my final season, I was named an all-conference pitcher and received the Bob Stephenson Award, which is voted on by the players and coaches and is the highest team honor you can receive.
Following university, I had interest from four MLB teams, but unfortunately, I had to undergo two surgeries on my right arm, which kept me from receiving further interest and left me undrafted. So, I decided to start playing overseas. I started my career playing in Cologne, Germany, with the Cologne Cardinals, then I played in Adelaide, Australia, for the Henley and Grange Rams. After Australia, I moved to France to play for the Sénart Templiers and have stayed ever since.
BTVF: The last two seasons for the Templiers have been tough, with a 2021 season at the top but without a trophy, and a 2022 season where the playoffs weren’t reached. How did you experience these two years?
S.P.: Of course, losing is never fun. Especially my first year with the Templiers, where we felt we had the best team in the league. However, losing is part of baseball or any sport, and something you know you will have to face as an athlete. After a loss, there are two ways to react. You can either let it affect your mentality and cause you to regress as an athlete, or you can learn from your failures and work harder to come back even stronger. The latter is exactly what I tried to do. I tried to learn from my mistakes and prepare harder and smarter so that I was more prepared for the next season. This doesn’t mean that I necessarily will have a better season, but at least I can say I gave it my best shot and my failure wasn’t due to a lack of preparation.
Along with self-development as an athlete, I am trying to help the players at Sénart grow. It takes a team to win a championship, not an individual. Knowing this, I have tried to give as much time as possible to other players in the organization so that we can all progress together and give ourselves a better chance to succeed in the future.
BTVF: What is your opinion on French pitching and its areas of progress? Are you in favor of a mandatory quota of French pitchers in Division 1?
S.P.: In short, I am in favor of rules that allow French pitchers to throw more. But I can also argue the opposite. From a hitter’s perspective, you have a lot more chances to face high-quality pitching than you would in other leagues in Europe since there are few regulations on the number of games or innings foreigners can throw. This allows the hitters more chances to develop.
Although the hitters have chances to develop, French pitchers can be hurt by the lack of regulations on foreign pitching. French pitchers do not have the opportunities to pitch very often because foreign pitching eats up most of the innings. This hurts the national team as well because often the pitchers selected for European tournaments have not had much in-game experience. And in-game experience is better than any amount of practice. One of the biggest things you learn from in-game experience is the mental side of the game. And by mental, I mean you can enter a game with confidence and be able to keep your composure even when you arrive at the difficult points of the game.
In saying this, I don’t want French pitchers to use the lack of regulations on foreign pitchers as an excuse for not developing. Foreign pitching is not much better than French pitching. If French pitchers decide that they will spend hours in the gym, hours at the field, and hours perfecting their craft in all areas, then they will develop and they will earn their playing time in the D1 games.
One more cause for many pitchers not developing is also due to the lack of games played in a season. If French baseball could find a way to increase the number of games, this would allow French pitchers the opportunity to get in-game experience despite not having more regulations on import pitching.
BTVF: Keino Perez came to get you to coach the pitching of the French team. How did you approach this mission?
S.P.: First off, it came as a huge surprise but a huge honor. Keino Perez has accomplished countless things in baseball and is a legend in France. To have a former player and coach of this status come to you with confidence that I had the ability to get the job done as the pitching coach for the French National Team was a great feeling.
Despite Coach Perez having confidence in me, I did have some initial nerves going into the National Team tournaments. I wanted to perform well for not only Keino but for the whole French National Team. I knew my performance as a coach would be a direct reflection on Keino, so it was important for me to do well so that people knew Keino made the right decision when selecting me.
This first year with Keino was nothing short of amazing and everything I could have hoped for. We had some ups and downs but ultimately, due to the focus and discipline of both the players and staff, we accomplished our goals going into the next year. This first year was also a great learning year for me as I got some of my first international coaching experience. I did my best to spend as much time with Keino and the other coaches in order to learn and grow myself so that I could soon bring the knowledge and experience necessary to have long-term success with Team France.
I know Keino will continue to take French baseball in the right direction, and France is lucky to have had him for so long. As a player and now coach, I am looking forward to having the opportunity to continue to prove myself to not only Keino but to all of French and European baseball.
BTVF: At the qualifier, you continued this role with Bruce Bochy. How was your collaboration?
S.P.: My role with the national team under Bruce Bochy for the World Baseball Classic changed from a coaching role to a player role. Despite this, I spent my few days with the legendary coach and his staff trying to learn as much as I could so that I could better manage and coach the players I will have the privilege to coach in the future. Coach Bochy has an unlimited amount of knowledge, and it would take years to learn all of it from him, but unfortunately, I didn’t have that time so I soaked up what I could in a week.
One of the key takeaways from my week with him was his ability to relate to all players despite their differences in personalities. I think that is what makes a great coach. Ultimately, you don’t have to have the most knowledge of the game of baseball, but the coach who can most effectively and efficiently manage the players he has and the ability to bring out the best in all of them, not only individually but as a collective unit as well, will have success.
BTVF: You recently announced that you wanted to stay in France for a new season. How do you explain this decision?
S.P.: I have always been someone who loves to travel, explore new cultures, learn languages, and just step outside of my comfort zones. Life in France has been able to provide all of those things, and not to mention through the sport of baseball. Baseball has always been a huge part of my life, so knowing France allows me to use a sport I love to help me experience life the way I have always dreamed is a huge blessing.
Along with that, I have greatly enjoyed bringing the knowledge I have to the players of France. The players here are so welcoming and appreciative of my time because they often don’t have the same resources of not only baseball fields and facilities but coaches as well. So, I have really enjoyed devoting my energy to players who are appreciative of my presence.
Lastly, France has provided me with an international lifestyle that isn’t easy to come by. It is very difficult to acquire work visas in other countries as an American, so it is hard to pass up the opportunities presented in France through the visas they have granted me. With these visas, I have the opportunity to not only play and coach baseball but also pursue a business career in Finance and now Supply Chain Management as I have started my master’s in Paris.
BTVF: What can we wish you?
S.P.: I don’t ask that you hope or wish a lot of things for me. However, if I have to choose something, I would say wish that I can continue to positively impact the people I encounter in France both on and off the baseball field. I know I am not a natural-born French citizen, but I want to be a contributing member of society to the country which has offered me so much. I don’t know what my future holds for me in France, but during my time here, long or short, I will put my best foot forward every day in order to leave a lasting and positive impression on this beautiful country.
English Version
BTVF: Who are you Shane Priest?
S.P. : My name is Shane Priest. I was born in Los Angeles California but I have moved around quite a bit. I lived in Tennessee for 8 years and now have been living in St Petersburg Florida since 2012.
BTVF: Before your arrival at the Sénart Templiers club, what was your career?
S.P. : I started baseball at 4 years old and haven’t stopped since. It would take a long time to talk about my baseball career, so I will mention a few of the highlights. Between the ages of 14-18, I played at Indian Rocks Christian High School in Florida. During the summers I played for the Nashville Knights summer program. My final year with the Nashville Knights we won the Perfect Game WWBA 18u tournament giving us the #1 ranking in the US that year.
After high school I played two years at Calhoun Community College. I was the closer for the team. We made it to the state championship game, but we fell 1 game shy of having a chance to play in the Junior College Baseball World Series.
After Calhoun I was blessed to receive a scholarship to play at the University of North Alabama. I acted as a starter both years there. My final season I was blessed to be named an all-conference pitcher as well as receive the Bob Stephenson award, which is voted on by the players and coaches and is the highest honors you can receive from a team award.
Following university I had interest from four MLB teams but unfortunatly I had to have two surgeries on my right arm, which kept me from receiving anymore interest from the teams and left me draftless. So, I decided to start playing overseas. I started my career playing in Cologne Germany with the Cologne Cardinals and then I played in Adelaide Australia for the Henley and Grange Rams. After Australia I moved to France to play for the Senart Templiers and I have stayed ever since.
BTVF: The last two seasons of the Templiers were difficult, a year 2021 at the top but without trophy, and a season 2022 where the plays offs could not be reached, how did you live these two years ?
S.P. : Of course lossing is never fun. Especially my first year with the Templiers where we felt that we had the best team in the league. However, lossing is a part of baseball or any sport for that matter and something you know you will have to face as an athlete. After lossing there are two ways to react. You can either let it affect your mentality and cause you to digress as an athlete, or you can learn from your failures and work harder to come back even stronger. The later is exactly what I tried to do. I tried to learn from my faults and prepare harder and smarter so that I was more prepared for the next season. This doesn’t mean that I necessarily will have a better season, but at least I can say I gave it my best shot and my failure wasn’t due to the lack of preparation.
Along with self developement as an athlete, I am trying to help the players at Senart grow. It takes a team to win a championship and not an individual. Knowing this, I have tried to give as much time as possible to other players in the organization so that we can all progress together and be able to give ourselves a better chance to succeed in the future.
BTVF : What is your opinion on the French pitching and its areas of progress, are you in favor of a quota of French pitchers to be mandatory in Division 1 ?
S.P. : In short, I am in favor of rules that allow French pitchers to throw more. But I can also argue the opposite. From a hitters perspective, you have a lot more chances to face high quality pitching than you would in other leagues in Europe since there are few regulations on the ammount of games/ innings foreigners can throw. This allows the hitters more chances to develop.
Although the hitters have chances to develop, the French pitchers can be hurt from the lack of regulations on foreign pitching. French pitchers do not have the opportunities to pitch very often because foreign pitching eats up most of the innings. This hurts the national team as well because often times the pitchers selected for the European tournaments have not had much in game experience. And in game experience is better than any amount of practice. One of the biggest things you learn from in game experience is the mental side of the game. And by mental, I mean you can enter a game with confidence and be able to keep your composure even when you arrive at the difficult points of the game.
In saying this, I don’t want French pitchers to use the lack of regulations on foreign pitchers as an excuse for not developing. Foreign pitching is not much better than the french pitchers. If the french pitchers decide that they will spend hours in the gym, hours at the field, and hours perfecting their craft in all areas, then they will develop and they will earn their playing time in the D1 games.
One more cause for many pitchers not developing is also due to the lack of games played in a season. If French baseball could find a way to increase the number of games, this would allow French pitchers the opportunity to get in game experience despite not having more regulations on import pitching.
BTVF: Keino Perez came to get you to coach the ptiching of the French team, how did you apprehend this mission?
S.P. : First off it came as a huge surprise but a huge honor. Keino Perez has accomplished countless things in baseball and is a legend in France. To have a former player and coach of this status come to you with confidence that I had the ability to get the job done as the pitching coach for the French National Team was a great feeling.
Despite Coach Perez having confidence in me, I did have some initial nerves going into the National Team tournaments. I wanted to perform well for not only Keino but for the whole French National team. I knew my performance as a coach would be a direct reflection on Keino, so it was important for me to do well so that people knew Keino made the right decision when selecting me.
This first year with Keino was nothing short of amazing and everything I could have hoped for. We had some ups and downs but ultimately due to the focus and discipline of both the players and staff, we accomplished our goals going into the next year. This first year was also a great learning year for me as I got some of my first international coaching experience. I did my best to spend as much time with Keino and the other coaches in order to learn and grow myself so that I could soon bring the knowledge and experience necessary to have long term success with team France.
I know Keino will continue to take French baseball in the right direction and France is lucky to have had him for so long. As a player and now coach, I am looking forward to having the opportunity to continue to prove myself to not only Keino but to all of French and European baseball.
BTVF: At the qualifier, you continued this role with Bruce Bochy, how was your collaboration?
S.P. : My role with the national team under Bruce Bochy for the World Baseball Classic changed from a coaching role to a player role. Despite this, I spent my few days with the legendary coach and his staff trying to learn as much as I could so that I could better manage and coach the players I will have the priviledge to coach in the future. Coach Bochy has an unlimited amount of knowledge, and it would take years to learn all of it from him, but unfortunately I didn’t have that time so I soaked up what I could in a week.
One of the key takeaways from my week with him, was his ability to relate to all players despite their differences in personalities. I think that is what makes a great coach. Ultimately you don’t have to have the most knowledge of the game of baseball, but the coach who can most effectively and efficiently manage the players he has and the ability to bring out the best in all of them, not only individually but as a collective unit as well, will have success.
BTVF: You recently announced that you wanted to stay in France for a new season, how do you explain this decision?
S.P. : I have always been someone who loves to travel, explore new cultures, learn languages, and just step outside of my comfort zones. Life in France has been able to provide all of those things, and not to mention through the sport of baseball. Baseball has always been a huge part of my life, so knowing France allows me to use a sport I love to help me experience life the way I have always dreamed is a huge blessing.
Along with that, I have greatly enjoyed bringing the knowledge I have to the players of France. The players here are so welcoming and appreciative of my time because they often don’t have the same resources of not only baseball fields and facilities but coaches as well. So, I have really enjoyed devoting my energy to players who are appreciative of my presence.
Lastly, France has provided me with an international lifestyle that isn’t easy to come by. It is very difficult to acquire work visas in other countries as an American so it is hard to pass up the opportunities presented in France through the visas they have granted me. With these visas I have the opportunity to not only play and coach baseball, but also pursue a business career in Finance and now Supply Chain Management as I have started my masters in Paris.
BTVF: What can we wish you?
S.P. : I don’t ask that you hope or wish a lot of things for me. However, if I have to choose something, I would say wish that I can continue to possitively impact the people I encounter in France both on and off the baseball field. I know I am not a natural born French citizen, but I want to be a contributing member of society to the country which has offered me so much. I don’t know what my future holds for me in France, but during my time here, long or short, I will put my best foot forward everyday in order to leave a lasting and positive impression on this beautiful country.
