DAN FRENCH
Owner of The Strike Zone
BASEBALL
Pitching, Hitting, Fielding
Hometown: Richmond VT
High School: Mount Mansfield Union High School (2010)
College: Southern Maine Community College
Southern New Hampshire University
Dan is a Vermont native who grew up in Richmond. He played two years of varsity baseball at MMU serving primarily as a pitcher/outfielder. After graduation, Dan attended Southern Maine Community College. He spent three years at SMCC while playing varsity baseball and achieving his degree in Sport Management. Dan also took courses on the side to become a certified coach through the University of Maine.
PLAYER ACHIEVEMENTS
- Southern Maine Community College Varsity Captain ‘13
- Yankee Small College Conference Champion ‘13
- Yankee Small College Conference Most Valuable Player ‘13
- Yankee Small College Conference Player of the Week ‘13
- United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Player of the Week ‘11
- Second All-Time in Wins SMCC (12)
- Second All-Time in Strikeouts SMCC (156)
- First All-Time in Innings Pitched SMCC (157)
SETH DOUGLAS
BASEBALL
Pitching, Hitting, Fielding
Hometown: Reedsburg WI
College: SUNY Canton 2014-2017
Prof. Independent: Alpine Cowboys, Ottawa Champions
Seth is a Wisconsin Native with an extensive playing career. After three years of Varsity Baseball in Wisconsin, Seth played one year with Bemidji State before transferring to SUNY Canton. Seth played numerous positions on the field during his collegiate career. Seth graduated from SUNY Canton with a degree in business. After graduation, he signed a contract with the Alpine Cowboys, an independent professional baseball team.
PLAYER ACHIEVEMENTS
- Wisconsin All-State Recognition '12 & '13
- 2x D3 Baseball National Team of the Week '15
- ABCA New York All Region First Team '15
- ECAC Metro/Upstate NY First Team All Star '15
- Empire 8 All Conference First Team '16
- United States Collegiate Athletic Association All-American '16
- SUNY Canton All-Time Home run, Hit, and RBI record holder
ZAC MORAIN
DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
PITCHING
Hometown: Toutle, WA
High School: Toutle Lake High School
College: Montana State University
Zac recently migrated to Vermont from Washington state to raise his first child near his wife’s hometown of Richmond. During high school, Zac was a four-year, varsity letter as a pitcher and catcher. After high school, he decided to hang up his cleats, but after time off decided to pick up a baseball again as an amateur player. This led him to realize that his passion lied with baseball and wanted to make a career out of coaching.
Lacking the playing experience of some coaches, he went back to school and decided to educate himself so he can help pitchers develop into beasts. So he pursued a Kinesiology degree to better understand the human body, how it moves, and how pitching mechanics work and can be changed. While studying at Montana State, he volunteered to be the pitching coach for the college team. After a few years of doing this, writing blogs, and doing independent research in player development, he took a job at the baseball training facility that is at the forefront of data-driven player development, Driveline Baseball.
He spent last year working at Driveline Baseball where he learned more about player development than he could have ever imagined. Beyond the everyday learning there, he completed numerous certifications from Driveline baseball that range from youth baseball development to pitching mechanics to pitch design. He is excited to bring those training philosophies to The Strike Zone along with furthering the use of technology and data.
Available for private, semi-private, and group lessons in pitching. Prefer to have pitchers over multiple sessions as that will allow for adjustments to be made and reinforced so the most gains can be had. Pre-season and Offseason development programs also available for those looking to spend 4+ weeks training with Zac 3 times a week (just ask about it if interested!).
Please note that using weighted baseballs, Plyocare balls, J-Bands, and Wrist Weights are a staple of training with Zac.
CERTIFICATIONS
- Foundations of Pitching - Driveline (Finishing part 2 for full certification in Februaru 2021)
- Basics of Pitch Design - Driveline
- Foundations of Hitting - Driveline
- Youth Baseball Development - Driveline
- Mental Performance Mastery - Brian Cain
ERIC RUTZ
SOFTBALL
Pitching, Hitting, Fielding
Eric is a life-long athlete and Essex resident who grew up in the town, moved away for a few years, and came back to raise his family. He has three adult children who, as he puts it, “learned a lot about life playing sports and I had the opportunity to coach and watch them grow."
Vermont’s 2016 Gatorade Softball Player of the Year, and his youngest Allie, will finish her career in 2020 where she is currently a pitcher and outfielder for Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
Eric is an SMC hockey alum, class of ’87, and has coached fastpitch for nearly 20 years at all levels. Currently Head Softball Coach at Essex High School, Eric has also coached 16U, 18U and 18U Gold Showcase teams for The VT Rockets, The Vermont Storm and The Electric City Bombers in Albany, NY.
His softball coaching philosophy is based on three principles:
-mastering fundamentals
-mastering advanced skills
-mastering the mental game
He is available for private, semi-private, and group lessons in pitching, hitting and fielding. He also does custom training, player assessments, recruiting videos and private consultation relative to player advancement and college recruitment.
DAN RANDALL
BASEBALL
Hitting, Fielding
Driveline Certified - Foundations of Hitting
Dan Randall grew up playing baseball in Vermont. He was a member of the 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1990 Vermont state championship baseball teams, (Little League, 13-year old, Babe Ruth and American Legion).
Dan had a strong senior year of high school, finishing the season with .560 batting average. Dan participated in the Twin State All Star Classic between Vermont and New Hampshire – hitting .600 for the series - with Vermont winning 2 out of 3 games.
Following high school, Dan was recruited to play Center Field for the University of New Haven Chargers. During his college career, the Chargers were featured in Sports Illustrated, ranked 2nd in the USA Today NCAA Collegiate Baseball Poll and played in the Division II College World Series. Dan tied for the team lead in home runs his sophomore year. His overall college career batting average was .397.
After a severe left ACL tear ended Dan’s competitive baseball playing career, he graduated from college and returned to Vermont to begin a career in Financial Services.
“Baseball has always been a big part of my life. It’s provided me with experiences and opportunities that would not have been otherwise possible – including providing for my college education. I want to share my passion and knowledge of the game with the next generation of baseball players. Strike Zone offers a dynamic combination of the latest technology and high-end instruction. I look forward to helping baseball players reach their full potential.”
NOAH BARTON
BASEBALL
Pitching, Hitting, Fielding
Noah was a graduate of South Burlington High School in 2017. Noah played four years of Varsity Baseball, serving predominantly as a Middle Infielder. During his senior year, Noah was elected a team captain and was selected to the Twin State Classic in 2017. After high school, Noah continued his baseball career at NVU-Lyndon. Noah currently plays Third Base for the Hornets.
PLAYER ACHIEVEMENTS
- Vermont All-State Recognition ‘16
- Team Captain ‘17
- Twin State Classic Selection ‘17
- NAC All-Tournament Team ‘19