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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 & Coach
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. His natural
talent was recognized when he earned a baseball scholarship
to Meramec College in St. Louis where he was the
starting catcher for Head Coach, Ric Lessman, who
is now at Washington University and has over 1,000
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.
Even before college,
Scott was making his mark. He played for the Coca
Cola® Cardinal’s House League in St. Louis at age
eight before going on to play varsity ball at Lindbergh
High School. There he lettered three out of four
years and was team captain for three years. During
his senior year in high school, Scott was named MVP
and Second Team All Missouri State Catcher.
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. |
Meet BatSpeed's Instructors
(presented in alphabetical order) |
Jason Acevedo
Instructional Staff Member, Vernon Hills Cougar
Baseball Camp
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
paced the squad in almost every offensive category,
led by 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.
Jason currently coaches at the baseball camp
for kids of all ages which is offered at Carthage.
For the past five summers, Jason has also served
as one of the four head coaches at the Vernon Hills
Cougar Baseball Camp. There youngsters get the
benefit of his collegiate experience playing the
positions of 1st base, outfield, and pitching. |
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Will Baker
Manager, 13U Warren Blue Devils Travel Baseball
Team
Will certainly knows his way around a baseball
diamond. In addition to his current duties as manager
for the13U Warren Blue Devils Travel Team, he also
plays competitive baseball in the Northern Illinois
Men’s Senior Baseball League for the four-time
league champion Crystal Lake Diamond Jaxx.
Will’s
interest in and aptitude for this sport began at
the college level in Colorado, his home state. He
played both Division I and II collegiate baseball
initially at Colorado State and then at Mesa State.
When he graduated from Mesa, located in Grand Junction,
he had a .426 career average, fourth highest in the
school’s history. Will also played professionally
for the Tri-Cities Posse of the (now defunct) Western
Baseball League. During that time he had the good
fortune to play for Tom Trebelhorn, former MLB manager
for the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. |
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Craig DeLost
Head Varsity Baseball Coach, Waukegan High School
As Head Varsity Baseball Coach for the past six
years, Craig has had 14 players go on to enjoy
collegiate careers. Prior to that he served as
Head Coach for Saint Benedict High School (DePaul
University’s Professional Development School) where
his abilities got him recognized as Chicago’s Prep
Conference Coach of the Year.
Craig played college
baseball at Illinois Valley Community College.
He then went on to become the Assistant Varsity
Coach and Head Jr. High Coach for the Unified Manteno,
IL School District in Kankakee County. He has ten
years of coaching experience and is a veteran instructor
of many baseball clinics and camps. |
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Dan Esplin
Assistant Mustang Commissioner, Lake Bluff, IL
Baseball Association
Dan’s name and baseball record should be easy
to recognize for anyone from Lake Forest. He was
a three year letterman on the Lake Forest High
School Varsity Baseball Team. He was named All
Conference in 1989 and in 1990 was named All Conference
and All Area as both a pitcher and center fielder.
In 1990 he also captured honors for All County
and First Team All State Centerfield. In 1991 Dan
was invited to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League,
the premier amateur baseball league in the nation
since 1885. He followed that by playing for Division
I baseball school, Southern Illinois where he lettered
for four years before graduating in 1995.
He is one of Southern’s Top Ten all-time,
offensive record holders for: At Bats, Games Played,
RBI’s and Triples. Dan is the head coach
for the Lake Bluff traveling team for nine
year olds. |
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Joe Ferro
Head Coach, Hitters Baseball, Racine, WI
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 as starting
shortstop and achieved an All Conference batting
average of .365.
He currently plays in the Kenosha-based,
collegiate, Wisconsin State League at shortstop and
in centerfield. In addition to his duties as Head
Coach with the Kenosha Legion 16U Traveling Team,
Joe has given private lessons for the past three
years and coaches at the baseball camp for kids of
all ages at Carthage. If that wasn’t enough, Joe
has just been named one of the head coaches for the
Racine (WI) Hitter In house Fall High School League.
Hitters is a highly competitive organization for
15U through 18U that competes in major baseball showcase
tournaments. |
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Bill Johnson
Catcher, Windy City Thunderbolts, Frontier League
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 is currently coaching the baseball
camp for kids of all ages at Carthage College. Bill,
a soon-to-be married resident of Kenosha, has just
signed for the current season as a catcher with the
Windy City ThunderBolts. The Windy City ThunderBolts
are a minor league baseball team located in Crestwood,
Illinois, and are entering their tenth season in
the 12-team independent Frontier League. They are
currently the defending 2007 Frontier League Champions. |
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Randy Johnson
Pitcher, Kenosha Kings, Wisconsin State League
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. Currently, the Kings
are just one win away from taking the championship
for the Frank Langsdorf League, another league in
which the Kings compete. And when he just wants to
toss the ball around, he does it with brother, Bill,
catcher for the Windy City Thunderbolts and also
a member of BatSpeed’s instructional staff. |
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Dan McGuire
Head Coach, Highwood Braves 11U Baseball Team
Dan’s Highwood Braves, which is a full time traveling
team, plays in the MSBL (Metro Suburban Baseball
League). Prior to that he coached competitive baseball
in Glenview for eight years.
Dan played over 12
years of competitive baseball and achieved All
Area and All Conference Honors as a catcher for
La Lumiere High School in LaPorte, IN in 1985 and
1986. |
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Brad Naughton
Head Sophomore Baseball Coach, Lake Forest High
School
Brad has coached baseball since 1989 primarily
at the high school level. Prior to his tenure at
Lake Forest, he has been a Varsity Assistant Coach
at other area high schools.
Along with founder Bob Zacher (see BatSpeed instructor
bio), he is well known as an organizer and coach
of the Lake Forest Police Baseball Clinic, one
of the largest, free baseball clinics in America.
He is also the founder of the Sophomore Summer
League. Brad is currently a member of the Illinois
and American Baseball Coaches Association. He is
also a board member of and coach/player for the
Lake Bluff Baseball Association.
Brad played four
years of college baseball at Millikin University
in Decatur, IL as a middle infielder and pitcher.
During his college summers, he played in collegiate
scouting leagues. He has privately instructed pitching
and hitting. |
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Stan "Stosh" Pestka
Commissioner, Lake Bluff Baseball Association
Stosh" began his involvement with baseball
in high school growing up in St. Louis. He played
all four years. He continued playing at Western
Illinois in Macomb, IL, graduating in 1979. He
returned to St. Louis where he played semi-pro
ball for three years as a catcher for the HiNi
MiNi League. Then it was back to Illinois again
in 1985 where he settled in the community of Lake
Bluff.
In addition to his duties as commissioner, "Stosh" is
also a coach and instructor for the Lake Bluff
Baseball Association. |
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Bob Zacher
Founder and Director, Lake Forest Police Department
Baseball Clinic
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. |
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