John Cole's Baseball Camps John Yurkow
215-746-2325
University of Pennsylvania
James Dunning Center 235 South 33rd St
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6322
John Cole - Camp Director
The W. Joseph Blood Head Coach of Baseball, John Cole, turned around the Penn baseball program in just his second season at the helm. He guided the Quakers to their best season since 2003 and their first time atop the Gehrig Division standings since 1997. In 2007, Penn took its first Gehrig Division title outright since 1995, going 20-19 overall and 12-8 in the Ivy League. Cole saw tremendous improvements in all facets of his team. Penn's team batting average jumped up 30 points from a season ago to .289, which was second-best in the Ivy League, while the team ERA dropped nearly three runs per game to 5.47. For all his teams’ success, Cole was named Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year and Penn was voted Big 5 Team of the Year. Cole brings a wealth of experience and success to Penn after leading Rowan University to the NCAA Division III Tournament in five of his seven seasons as head coach. He compiled a 229-73 (.758) record during his tenure at the Glassboro, N.J., institution. His 2005 and 2006 teams combined for an 83-11 record and participated in the Division III College World Series during both seasons. He was twice named Mid-Atlantic Coach-of-the-year and four times named NJAC Coach-of-the-year. Cole had previously coached at William & Mary, Dartmouth, DeSales and the University of North Carolina. Cole graduated from Ithaca College (N.Y.) in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. He played professional baseball with the Boise Hawks Class A Northwest League in 1986. Cole earned a master's degree in education from the University of North Carolina in 1988. Cole and his wife Elizabeth have three children; Cassandra (8), Kevin (6) and Andrew (3).
John Yurkow - Assistant Director
John Yurkow begins his fourth season on Head Coach John Cole's staff. Yurkow comes to Penn after serving as an assistant at Duke University from 2001 to 2005. His responsibilities included all aspects of team offense and teaching the hitting philosophy as well as overseeing infield play. Yurkow was a four-year starter at Rowan University where he played second base. During his time at Rowan, he helped lead the Profs to the NCAA Regional Championship four times. Yurkow forged his bond with Cole, who took over as Rowan's head coach in 1999 - Yurkow's senior year - and led the Profs to a 36-8 record and the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship. Yurkow garnered NCAA Division III All-America honors in 1999 as well as NCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region in 1998 and 1999. He was also NJAC All-Conference selection in 1998 and 1999 and NJAC Tournament MVP in 1999. John and his wife, Niki, have a daughter, Rosa (7) and reside in Sewell, NJ.
Jon Cross - Assistant Director
Jon Cross begins his third season as an Assistant Coach at Penn. Prior to coming to Penn, Cross was the Associate Head Coach at Germantown Academy, where he coached from 2002-2007 and also from 1994-1996. His responsibilities were coaching third base, instructing and coordinating the defense, scouting and recruiting. Cross coached GA to four Inter-Academic League titles (1996, 2003, 2004 and 2006). Prior to coaching, he was a reserve shortstop at Lafayette College and he was all-area selection and team MVP while playing for Germantown Academy. He earned a degree from Villanova Law School in 1996. Cross and his wife Deena have two children, Heidi (8) and Eric (6) and reside in Ambler, PA.
