Pete Kiefer, Alberto Gonzalez added to coaching staff

KITCHENER - The Kitchener Panthers are proud to announce the hiring of two key coaches ahead of the 2025 season.

Alberto Gonzalez is being brought on as the fielding and hitting coach. 

Pete Kiefer is the team's new pitching coach, and will also serve as an associate head coach.

Gonzalez has worked as an assistant hitting coach for the Gurriel brothers (Yuki, Yunieski and Lourdes, as well as Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr.

He has also worked as a support coach for the Cuban national team at the Premier 12 and Carribean Series competitions in 2014 and 2015. Recently, he has been the head coach of the Parkland Twins 18U development team in Alberta (2023), and the Edmonton Padres 18U team (2021).

Kiefer is a former employee of Major League Baseball, working as the envoy coordinator for game development in Latin America from 1997-2001. This allowed him to coach and play in 12 different countries and develop baseball curriculum in the physical education departments at major universities in those countries.

Between 1987 and 2004, he was a baseball coach and strength coach at UConn Avery Point, work that earned him an induction into the UConn-AP Hall of Fame. In his time there, he coached such players as Pete Walker, John McDonald and Rajai Davis.

He returned to UConn-AP in 2021 and helped the team to two regional titles.