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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.
Meet BatSpeed's Instructors
(presented in alphabetical order) |
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Sue Garcia
Head Softball Coach, College of Lake County
Sue has held her current position since 1987 and
during that time has created a solid track-record
of accomplishment. She has taken her teams to the
state tournament eight times. This year the CLC
team finished second. Her teams have won seven
conference titles, including the 2007-2008 title
for the Illinois Skyway Collegian Conference. One
of her players also captured Conference Player of
the Year and 1st Team All American honors.
Sue
played fast pitch, varsity softball while at Libertyville
High School. She gained additional experience by
playing slow pitch softball for a number of years
with a traveling team that competed with teams
from southern Wisconsin and throughout Lake County.
She also coached the initial Libertyville in-house
and traveling teams. With over two decades of coaching
experience, Sue can share her expertise at all
positions. She is delighted to see softball gaining
in popularity as girls today are the recipients
of better training which has made them bigger,
stronger, and faster. |
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Carri Nichols
Head Varsity Softball Coach, Warren Township High
School
Carri, who has played softball for most her life,
began her serious athletic career in high school
at Warren when she received All Conference and All
Area honors as a pitcher in 2001. She attended Xavier
University in Chicago, IL on a softball scholarship
and before graduating in 2005, she had made two national
tournament appearances. She also played traveling
softball through the Lindenhurst Fastpitch Program
while in high school.
When Carri began her teaching career at Warren,
she was the Assistant Softball Freshman Coach before
assuming her current head coaching duties. Her
playing emphasis is on pitching, hitting and fielding,
but she feels comfortable instructing every position
on the field. |
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Pam Schimanski
Former JV Softball Coach, Vernon
Hills High School; Private Pitching Instructor
Pam played fast pitch her entire high school
career at Warren Township where she captured All
Conference and All Area honors as a pitcher. She
attended Lawrence University in Appleton, WI where
she furthered her pitching career. During Pam’s freshman
year playing fast pitch, Lawrence, with just 1,500
students, made the top 25 teams as a DIII school.
Pam spent her college summers playing for the Barrington
Hurricanes in a local tournament league.
After
graduating in 2004, she coached JV at Vernon Hills
High School for two years and began a successful
private coaching practice where she teaches her
specialty, pitching, to girls 8-18 from the Gurnee/Grayslake/Libertyville
area. |
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Jeff Tylka
Head Varsity Softball Coach, Antioch Community
High School
Assistant Coach Illinois Chill 18U Gold
Jeff, who was a 4 year starting shortstop and two
year captain at Knox College in Galesburg IL, also
started as a wide receiver for the football team
and shooting guard for the basketball team while
at Knox.
Jeff began his softball-coaching career with
the Lake Villa Wildcats and as the Head Freshman coach
at Antioch each for one season before taking over
the Varsity program. In Tylka’s first year
as head coach his squad compiled a 32-3 record and
reached the sectional final while he was named the
Illinois Coaching Association (ICA) Sectional Coach
of the Year. The Pioneer Press and Daily Herald
also named Tylka an All-Area coach along with 5 of
his players. The Sequoits captured Division,
Conference, and Regional titles during his first
season as 7 players made the all-conference team. One
of his players was named the Daily Herald player
of the year and 4 were named ICA All-State. He
also was the Head 16U coach for the Illinois Chill
last season as they qualified for ASA Nationals. This
season he is an assistant for the Illinois Chill
18U Gold team. His coaching emphasis is on
hitting, infield, and outfield play. |
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Kevin Wise
Coach, Avon Township Youth and Competitive
Travel Softball
With 30 years of baseball and softball experience
under his belt, Kevin is an amazing coaching resource.
After graduating from high school in Texas, his first
stop was trying out for the Texas Rangers and Houston
Astros. He then went on to play against Marine, Air
Force, Navy and Japanese All-Star Teams while stationed
as a Marine in Okinawa, Japan during the late 1980’s.
After leaving the service, Kevin continued his baseball
career as player/manager in the NABA (National Adult
Baseball Association) inLas Vegas, NV in the early
1990’s.
He started his youth coaching career in 1998 and
is currently pursuing his ASEP (American Sports Education
Program) Certification. He furthers his skill set
by attending National Sports Clinics (NSC). And speaking
of Kevin’s skill set, he likes working with players
on pitching, hitting and position play. He is also
comfortable instructing pitchers in both baseball
and windmill fundamentals and emphasizing proper
throwing mechanics and styles for various positions. |
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