Instructors

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)

Pitching, Hitting, Fielding

Hometown – Charlotte VT

High School – Rice/CVU

College – Dean College

Ryan is a Vermont native who grew up in Charlotte. He played four years of Varsity Baseball between Rice and CVU playing five different positions throughout high school. Following graduation, Ryan attended Dean College. After three arm surgeries, he was forced to stop playing baseball and served as a student assistant coach at Dean College. Ryan's coaching experience also includes one season with the Vermont Outlaws (2014). Ryan finished with associate’s degrees in Sports Management and Business Management. 

Ryan uses his experience taking baseball lessons to create a unique and productive lesson format for each of his clients. Ryan stresses fundamentals and mechanics to teach kids the right way to play and to prevent injury. His experience playing multiple positions allows him to teach a wide variety of skills to any player. 

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.

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

Pitching, Hitting, Fielding

Hometown - Essex Junction VT

High School - Essex High School

College - University of Vermont

Zach is a Vermont Native who grew up in Essex Junction Vermont. Zach played three years of Varsity baseball, serving predominantly as a pitcher and outfielder, before graduating in 2014. Zach has playing and coaching experience, as he has spent the last five years coaching various teams from the youth to high school levels. 

Coaching Experience

ADL Middle School Baseball Coach '16

Joined the Essex Junction Little League Board of Directors '16

VT District and State Little League Tournament Director '17

Essex Junction Little League Coach, won state title '17

Essex High School JV Baseball Coach '18

First Head Coach of Essex Prep Junior Legion Team '18

Hitting, Fielding

 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.” 

 Pitching

Hometown: Essex Junction, Vt.

High School: Drury High School (North Adams, Mass.)

College: UMass Amherst/Springfield College

Matt’s coaching career has spanned more than a dozen years with stops at the high school, American Legion and collegiate levels. He currently serves as head coach of the American Legion-affiliate Colchester Cannons. Matt joined the Cannons in 2011 as the team’s top assistant coach before taking head coaching duties in 2015. The Cannons have won three state titles since 2011, including a championship run in his inaugural season as head coach. Since 2015, the Cannons have also won three Northern District regular-season championships and had 20-win seasons in 2018 and 2019. Matt was the 2019 Northern District Coach of the Year and currently holds a 100-66 (.602) head coaching record through five seasons.

Matt previously coached two years of varsity baseball at Winooski High School and was part of the coaching staff at NCAA Division II Saint Michael’s College and Division III SUNY Plattsburgh. His 2012 season at Saint Michael’s was spent as the Purple Knights’ interim head coach.

Player Achievements

·  Two Western Massachusetts championships

· Two career no hitters

· 24-2 career record, 0.97 ERA

· 2000 Western Massachusetts MVP

· 2001 NABF national champion with Central Florida Renegades

· Three-year player at Division III Springfield College

· Two-year player with the North Adams SteepleCats (NECBL)

Sports Psychology

Brady is a local sports radio host who currently hosts the popular afternoon show "The Huddle" on 101.3 The Game.

Baseball wise, Brady previously served as the pitching coach at Hudson Valley Community College (NY) for two seasons and Norwich University (VT) for one season.

While at Hudson Valley, he recruited more than 25 athletes into the Vikings' program and helped the program qualify for the Mountain Valley Conference playoffs in 2015. He helped several Vikings players continue their collegiate careers, with multiple landing Division I or Division II roster spots.

Prior to coaching college ball, he spent two years coaching Mickey Mantle baseball in New York State (16-under) and helped lead the Clifton Park Gators to the Upper New York State Mickey Mantle Championship in 2013.

Brady attended Oswego State, NY, for four years where he debuted as a pitcher and appeared in over 50 games.

He's also a student of sports psychology and enjoys talking about pitching philosophy and the process of getting players to play at the next level.