Staff
Rashid Khalil played five years of professional baseball in the minor leagues, mainly in Texas and Canada. Rashid, a speedy outfielder and switch hitter, was considered a quality five tool prospect in his own right and got his first opportunity to play pro ball here in Sonoma County for a brief stint with the Sonoma County Crushers in 2000. He has resided here, in northern California, ever since. He attended Wichita State University near his hometown in Kansas City, Missouri and has traveled and played all over the United States during his baseball career. Now Rashid is dedicated to passing along his baseball knowledge through coaching and has been with Future Prospects since 2004 mentoring and consulting with kids and their families through private lessons, summer camps, and managing multiple travel baseball teams. “I just love working with young athletes and having the opportunity to create bonds and have a positive impact on their lives.”
Stefan Wever was born in Germany but moved to the U.S. at the age of 6. Although he didn’t speak a word of English, one of the first things he did was pick up a baseball. He has rarely put it down since. In 1976, Wever was 1st team All-League Pitcher for Lowell H.S. in San Francisco. He then headed south to the mounds of U.C. Santa Barbara where he immediately became a starting pitcher as a freshman. His first college start was a 4-2 victory against the eventual national championship winners and perennial college powerhouse USC.
After his junior year at UCSB, Stefan was the 5th draft pick of the New York Yankees in 1979. He signed with the team, and quickly made his way up the minor league ladder. Wever’s break out season was 1982, during which he went 18-6, including two play-off shut-outs, for the AA Nashville Sounds of what was then the Southern League. Wever won the rare “pitcher’s triple crown” leading the league in wins, strike-outs, and ERA. He was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Year and was featured on the cover of Baseball America as one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball.
At the end of the 1982 season, Wever was promoted to the big league team, making the rare jump from AA to the major leagues. On September 17, 1982, Wever made his major league debut in a start against the Milwaukee Brewers, then still in the American League, and eventual American League champions. Wever is one of very few players in baseball to face two future Hall of Famers in his debut, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Still in the 1st inning, Wever tore his rotator cuff, and despite pitching two more innings, was forced to leave the game. Despite spending the next 2 1/2 years trying to rehabilitate his arm, including surgery in 1984, Wever was never to pitch in the major leagues again, and retired from the game in June of 1985.
In 2007, when Wever’s daughter Megan entered Redwood H.S. in Larkspur (Marin County), Wever saw the perfect opportunity to get back into the game he loved so much. He volunteered as an assistant coach on Redwood’s freshman baseball team, a season which saw them go an unprecedented 24-0. He coached travel ball the following summer, and the following year once again assisted at the freshman level.
In the summer of 2008, Redwood’s longtime varsity coach resigned and Stefan quickly applied for the job. Shortly thereafter he was named the new varsity baseball coach at Redwood High School, a position he holds today. In his first year as coach, Wever took a team with 3 returning seniors and one returning starter and took them to the second round of the North Coast Sectional playoffs, where they lost a heartbreaking 4-3 game to powerhouse Cardinal Newman.
Early in 2008, Wever was introduced to Charles Scott and their respect and admiration for each other was immediate. Their similar baseball backgrounds, coupled with their imposing size, were just two of the things they found that they had in common. Stefan and Charles both share almost identical philosophies regarding the teaching of youth baseball. Both emphasize using baseball as a tool to teach life lessons. They both know that in the major leagues, it is demanded that you win, and that in college ball it is expected that you win. They also realize that at the younger levels, winning is merely a pleasant byproduct of being able to teach young players valuable lessons which they will hopefully carry with them for the rest of their lives: respect for your teammates; respect for your opponent; respect for the game; the ability to face adversity with resilience; loyalty; teamwork; leadership and many of the other tools that they will need as they grow older.
Jeff Packman grew up in Marin County and attended Redwood High School. He was a four year varsity player, earning All-League honors each season. In his senior season he was named MCAL Player of the Year and was part of the 2002 Redwood High School MCAL championship team. During Jeff’s senior season, he received a scholarship to pitch at Sonoma State University. Due to an arm injury, his Sonoma State career only lasted one season.
While receiving his degree, Jeff was the assistant coach for the varsity baseball team at Branson High School. He coached at Branson for two seasons, which included one trip to the playoffs. Jeff was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to coach last years’ junior varsity team at Redwood High School. For the last year, Jeff has coached with Future Prospects, working to improve the skills of all our players. He has been fortunate to have great coaches throughout his entire playing career, and Jeff enjoys having the opportunity to pass along his knowledge to many of our young players.