Baseball Instructors
The heart and soul of any sports academy is its staff of instructors. BatSpeed® has assembled an all-star group. Their credentials insure that you receive sound, progressive fundamentals whether you want to take your total game or your hitting, pitching, catching or fielding skill set to the next level.
Scott Czerniejewski
Owner, BatSpeed
Catching Coach, Lakeside Legends
Instructional Specialty: Hitting and Catching
Scott’s passion is baseball. He has spent literally his whole life devoted to this sport and, in the process, developed a credible track record. He lettered and was team captain three out of four years while at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis. During his senior year he was named MVP and Second Team All State Catcher. His natural talent earned him a baseball scholarship to Meramec College in St. Louis where he was the starting catcher for Head Coach, Ric Lessman, who just finished his successful Coaching career at Washington University and has over 1,300 college wins to his credit. Scott’s collegiate career batting average was over .380. While at Meramec, Scott worked at Grand Slam USA where he provided hitting and catching instruction.
After a detour through corporate America, Scott has returned to what he loves and knows best, baseball. Sharing his love of the game and teaching his expertise in the areas of hitting and catching has motivated Scott to open BatSpeed, a premier baseball and softball academy. Scott has also been an active supporter in the local communities coaching for Lake Forest Baseball Association and the Lakeside Legends. He has also volunteered his time for GYB and WYB for fundraising assistance and Player Development.
| Meet BatSpeed’s Instructors (presented in alphabetical order) |
Jason Acevedo
Hitting coach for Lakeside Legends, Assistant Coach for Vernon Hills HS
Instructional Specialty: Hitting, Pitching and Infielding
Jason has played collegiate baseball at CLC, Bradley and Carthage College and left his mark on all three schools. At CLC he was named All Conference and All Region. He was offered a scholarship to play at Division I Bradley. However, Jason’s real talents emerged at Carthage where he enjoyed one of the best hitting seasons in the school’s history. He lead his team in almost every offensive category starting with his .464 batting average. He was also tops in home runs, RBI’s, hits, doubles, triples, runs, total bases, walks, at-bats, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. His season average was the fourth highest in Carthage’s history. He has made the school’s record books in other statistical areas as well. As a result, he was named 1st Team All American in the Division III Coaches and Writers Poll.
More recently, Jason, who plays 1st base, has been offered a contract to try out with the Midwest Sliders of the independent Frontier League for the 2009 season. He also served as assistant hitting coach for Carthage who made it into the 2009 College World Series where the team placed third among Division III schools. Jason also coaches with Vernon Hills High School and just accepted an Assistant position in the Warren Travel Program.
Greg Belcher
Coach, 17U Lakeside Legends and Coach
Instructional Specialty: Hitting, Fielding and Pitching
“I’ve played ball for as long as I can remember.” Baseball is clearly in Greg Belcher’s blood and he still is going strong as he joins BatSpeed’s instructional staff as well as assuming the head coaching responsibility for the Legends 17U prestigious showcase tournament team. If you don’t know Greg you should since he is well-known locally. His career began in Lake Forest where he participated in local travel teams as well as playing varsity under Tommy Myers at LFHS. Greg was named All-State during his senior year. He went on to play ball at the U of I (Champaign-Urbana) where he played centerfield on teams winning the Big 10 Season and Big 10 Tournament. He was invited to several pro try-outs upon graduation.
Since graduation Greg has been a coach for the Lake Forest Baseball Association. His most recent team, 12U, went undefeated and took top honors in the Lake Shore Feeder Baseball League. This past falll season Greg took the 15/16u LSL team to the championship game. Now, as he assumes Legends 17U coaching duties, he looks forward to identifying young talent, maximizing their exposure to his network of college coaches, and helping players obtain scholarships.
Joe Ferro
Coach, 16U Lakeside Legends and Varisty Head Coach, Christian Life H.S.
Instructional Specialty: Hitting, Pitching and Infielding
After choosing to decline several athletic scholarships from local colleges after graduating from Romeoville High School, Joe joined the military. There he played in the Navy Baseball League for two years while stationed at Great Lakes. He was captain of his team, led his league in RBI’s, and with a .482 batting average, placed third in the league. The Navy team played in the collegiate summer league which gave Joe the opportunity as shortstop to play against teams throughout the Midwest and East. When he began his college career at CLC, he quickly made his mark as a freshman. He was named 1st Team All Conference and had a .452 batting average. He transferred to Carthage College where, as starting shortstop, he achieved an All Conference batting average of .365. Most recently, Joe was the starting short-stop for Carthage which took third place for Div. III schools in the 2009 College World Series.
He currently plays in the Kenosha-based, collegiate, Wisconsin State League at shortstop and in center field. Joe has coached for Lake Bluff Travel, Lakeside Legends 15u and now 16u and is the Christian Life HS Head Coach. There is not a better hitting and fielding coach in the area.
Shane Hogan
Coach, Freshman Baseball Waukegan H.S.
Instructional Specialty: Pitching, Fielding and Hitting
A teacher by education and experience, Shane comes to his new role as BatSpeed hitting/fielding/pitching instructor ready to make an impact. He understands the power of positive feedback and says his ability as a coach to establish a strong rapport with his players and generate that feedback has been the backbone of his baseball coaching career. He currently teaches P.E./Health at the middle school level in Waukegan and also coaches Waukegan’s H.S. baseball team. His 13U LFBA traveling team just concluded a strong season (playing in Mike’s Memorial and Lake Shore Feeder League) making it to the semi-finals.
A Waukegan native, Shane is well known in the local baseball community. He played ball at Waukegan H.S. where, in addition to being team captain and team MVP, he was named All Conference (in the Central Suburban League) his senior year. He also played at several local junior colleges as well as IL State where he graduated in 2008.
Bill Johnson
Former Catcher, Windy City Thunderbolts – Frontier League
Instructional Specialty: Catching, Hitting and Fielding
During his four years at UW-Whitewater, Bill has racked up an enviable record. Success came early when, as a freshman, Bill was a member of UW-Whitewater team which won the DIII National Baseball Championship in 2004-2005. Fast forward to his junior year and Bill was recognized as All Conference Second Baseman. During his senior year, he was named Team MVP, Golden Glove winner, 1st Team All Conference Catcher, 1st Team All Region, and 2nd Team Academic All American. Also during his 2007-2008 senior year, the UW-Whitewater team placed third nationally in Division III. He served twice as team captain.
In addition to his stateside collegiate honors, Bill played for USA Athletes International, traveling to Australia and Germany in the respective summers of 2007 and 2008. He also has caught for the Windy City Thunderbolts, a minor league baseball team located in Crestwood, IL. Also, Bill is currently an Assistant coach for Trinity college.
Randy Johnson
Pitcher, Kenosha Kings – Wisconsin State League
Instructional Specialty: Pitching
Randy started early to make his mark in the world of pitching. He was named 1st Team All Conference while he attended Tremper High School in Kenosha. When he attended UW-Whitewater, from which he just graduated, he was a member of the DIII National Championship Team in 2005. His team also captured three championships for the conference (WI Intercollegiate Athletic) in which UW-Whitewater plays. In Randy’s senior year, UW-Whitewater placed third in DIII’s College World Series.
On the individual front, Randy has pitched for the semi-pro baseball team, Kenosha Kings, for the past four summers. In 2007 he won the Wisconsin State League Pitcher of the Year.
Sean Lavery
Former Head Coach, 14U Gold Warren Devils
Current 16u Assistant coach for the Lakeside Legends
Instructional Specialty: Hitting and Infielding
Sean first became known for his defensive skills at shortstop and third base at Warren Township High School where he started for three years. During his junior year the team raised its profile by winning the ILHSA Regional Championship…a first in the team’s history. Sean was also recruited to play for the 16U and 18U Kenosha Indians, the highly respected competitive traveling team. Sean went on to play club ball at the University of Iowa during his junior and senior years and was able to participate in the NCBA Regional playoffs, a first for Iowa’s club team.
During the summers since his graduation he has been a special assistant to three different Warren Blue Devils teams. Now Sean is looking forward to being the first, non-parent head coach of the 14U Warren Blue Devils. In addition to Sean’s infield defensive skills, he is particularly interested in teaching the mental aspects of the game and game strategy.
Mike O’Leary
Former Pitcher, Midwest Sliders – Frontier League
Instructional Specialty: Pitching
Meet BatSpeed’s newest southpaw. He has refined his pitching skills since high school and won lots of honors along the way. Mike took All Area and All Conference Honors, along with a trip to the IHSA state finals, during his playing career at Carmel High School in Mundelein. At College of Lake County, where he played for two years, he was All Conference and All Region. He completed his collegiate career at the University of Northern Iowa, a Division I school in Cedar Falls, where his team made it to the Missouri Valley Conference finals after a seven year dry spell.
Out of college, Mike played for the semi-pro Kenosha Kings where he was the winning pitcher in the Frank Langsdorf League 2008 championship game. His ability has been further recognized with a 2009 contract to pitch for the Midwest Sliders of the independent Frontier League.
Johnny Passarelli MPT CSCS
Speed and Agility & Strength and Conditioning Training
Graduated From Marquette University with a bacholer’s degree in human biology and Master’s degree in Physical Therapy. Received Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist from National Strength and Conditioning Association. Has been in Private Practice for 13 years specializing in orthopedic conditions and has worked with many sport teams including Carthage College and UW-Parkside athletes and works closely with Drs William Raasch and Bryant Walrod(Milwaukee Brewer team doctors). Also, consistently is a guest lecturer at both universities.
Played baseball at Missouri Valley College and currently plays in the Mens Senior Baseball League which allows the merging of understanding the physical demands of baseball players, conditioning demands and proper mechanics and its relevance to the prevention and rehab of injuries specific to baseball players.
Scott Shaw
Pitcher and Affiliate of the New York Mets
Instructional Specialty: Pitching
Major league scouts know talent when they see it and they certainly saw it in Scott Shaw, a 13th round pick for the New York Mets in the MLB’s June 2008 Free Agent draft. Scott’s pitching skills first emerged when he played ball at Warren and then later, on scholarship, at Division I U of I. After completing his redshirt junior season in June 2008 and signing his first professional contract for a handsome bonus with the Mets, he played a short season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, a Mets farm team. In the fall of 2008 he played in the Hawaiian Winter League. He then went off to the Mets’ spring training camp in March of 2009 and was assigned to the Mets’ Class A advanced affiliate in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the St. Lucie Mets.
Scott is known for his innate ability to understand what is going on and his outstanding arm action.” It also helps that Scott is 6’5”, 235 pounds and his typical fastball ranges between 88 and 92 MPH.
John Snelten
Coach, Lake Forest Baseball Association 11U Blue Travel Team
Instructional Specialty: Pitching
Pitching for D 1 Valpariso (IN) for five years certainly gives John some serious street cred. And it is something he obviously enjoys. Upon graduation in 2010, he immediately volunteered to be the Antioch High School [his alma mater] sophomore team pitching coach. He followed that with his role as coach for the 11U Lake Forest Baseball Association, a responsibility he hopes to continue in 2011. John’s knowledge of pitching is further enhanced by his recent degree in P.E./Health. Consistent with the individualized instructional philosophy at BatSpeed, John likes to help young pitchers identify their individual strengths and then build on those to optimize pitching fundamentals (e.g., building momentum and selecting correct body angles).
Bob Zacher
Founder and Director, Lake Forest Police Department Baseball Clinic
Instructional Specialty: Hitting, Pitching and Infielding
Bob is well known for his role as founder and director of the Lake Forest Police Department Baseball Clinic, one of the largest, free baseball clinics in the country. It serves approximately 225 youth with the help of 70 volunteers. This annual clinic uses the Walter Payton indoor practice facility, home of the Chicago Bears. He also has served as a travel baseball coach for over 20 years, mostly at the Pony League level.
Additionally, Bob has seven years of private instruction experience with young players where he focuses on mastering the fundamentals, arm care for young pitchers and creating a “plan of progression” with players and their parents. His own baseball career was cut short when he was 15 because of Little League elbow, an injury which resulted from overuse at a young age. Arm injuries prevented him from pursuing a letter of interest from the Chicago Cubs.
Bob is a Lake Forest Police Officer as well as a state certified Youth Officer Specialist. He has over 15 years working with youth as a high school resource officer and drug prevention instructor.
