Our Instructors | 1st Source Bank Performance Center

Our Instructors

Mark Haley

Director of Training & Instruction

Mark Haley is the former manager of the South Bend Silver Hawks, having led the team from 2005-2014. During that time, he was named manager of the year in the Midwest League in 2005, 2008 & 2013. He was Player Development Man of the Year for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005 and was the first recipient of the Joe Garagiola Jr. Award for excellence in player development for the Diamondbacks in 2008. While at the helm, his teams were able to work themselves into the play offs 8 of the 10 years and won one Midwest League Championship and three Eastern Division championships. Early on, Haley was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 26th round of the 1977 amateur draft but instead chose to attend the University of Nebraska to play ball while earning his degree in education. He started coaching at UNL as an assistant from 1982-86. He also coached in the summer for the Alaska League and the Jayhawk League. He then became a recruiting coordinator and interim head coach while at the University of Tennessee (1987-91). He spent over a decade in the Chicago White Sox organization as a coach. He was with the South Bend White Sox (1991-1992), Sarasota White Sox (1993), Hickory Crawdads (1994), Venezuela League (1994) South Bend Silver Hawks (1995), Prince William Cannons (1996), and Winston-Salem Warthogs (1997), where he managed for 49 games. Returning to coaching, he was at Winston-Salem (1999, 2001-2002), with the Birmingham Barron’s (2003) and the Great Falls White Sox (2004) before joining the South Bend Silver Hawks. Throughout his coaching career, Haley has worked with over a hundred and twenty major league players.

Doug Buysse

Hitting & Catching Instructor

In addition to coaching catchers and hitters at the collegiate level, Doug Buysse has traveled throughout the Midwest as a baseball camp instructor, making appearances at Silver Spikes, Top 96, and College Coaches Skills Camps. He played for four years at Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., where he holds a career .351 batting average and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage as a back-up catcher. Buysse is currently the head baseball coach at Indiana University South Bend.

Eric Danapilis

Baseball Hitting and Infield Instructor

Eric Danapilis comes to the Performance Center as a 2 time All American at the University of Notre Dame. Danapilis is a graduate of St. Joseph HS in Michigan where he was a 4 Time All-State Selection and a member of the Michigan Dream Team and a member of USA JR Olympic Team. He went on to play collegiately and graduate from the University of Notre Dame where he was a 4 Year Letter Winner, Freshman All-American, and was named Conference Player of the Year twice. While at Notre Dame, Danapilis set several season and career records and was selected as a member of 1990 Pan-American team. Eric was selected in the 27^th round of 1993 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. While in the minors, Eric led his league in homeruns and batting average while also becoming an All Star. Since retiring from playing professional baseball, Eric has coached at the high school, college, and travel ball levels.

Carlos Ferrá

Hitting & Infield Instructor

Carlos Ferrá has coached baseball for over 18 years, and is a physical education and Spanish teacher in the South Bend schools. In his native country of Cuba, Ferrá coached youth, high school and collegiate level baseball. He studied in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba at Nancy Uranga University and majored in baseball with a master’s degree in physical culture and sports. Several of his students play at the professional level in the United States and Mexico. Ferrá specializes in teaching professionally minded students between the ages of 11 to 18 and is adept at training any position.

Matt Cates

Strength & Conditioning Instructor

Matt Cates joins the Performance Center with a wealth of experience in strength training. He is a 2001 graduate of Portage High School and a 3 year letter winning football player at Manchester University where he graduated with as a certified health and physical education teacher. Cates is a Certified Specialist in Sports Conditioning and has 13 years of experience as a Head Strength Coach. He has made stops at Portage High School, Michigan City High School, Martinsville High School, and is currently the Head Strength Coach at Penn High school while coaching hundreds of collegiate athletes at all levels and sports along the way. Cates is an original member of the National High School Strength and Conditioning Association; along with being a member of both the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the International Sports Sciences Association. He has been a speaker at the Indiana High School State Athletic Leadership Conference, the Chicago Glazier National Athletic Performance Clinic, and the Mid State Athletic Conference Leadership Summit.

John Coddington

Softball/Baseball Throwing Mechanics Specialist

John Coddington has more than 40 years of experience in teaching throwing mechanics, injury care and prevention, and pre and post- surgical rehabilitation. He is a NATA board-certified athletic trainer, an Indiana-licensed athletic trainer and has attended numerous clinics and seminars relating to throwing mechanics and injuries to the throwing athlete. John was voted Athletic Trainer of the Year in the Clinical and Professional Division by the Indiana Athletic Trainer’s Association in 1989 and was also inducted into the Indiana Athletic Trainer’s Association Hall of Fame in 2001. He was inducted into the Ball State Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor in 2008. Coddington is a 1976 graduate of Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in physiology and health science with a specialization in athletic training and sports medicine.

Ashley Burkhardt

Softball Coordinator

As a softball player at the college and professional levels, Ashley brings a wealth of teaching talent to the Performance Center. She was a two time all state selection while at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, IN. She then went on to play at Purdue University where she was voted NFCA All-Midwest Region first team and Academic All Big Ten as a senior. She set the school record for stolen bases in a game and home runs in a game. She ended her career at 4th in sacrifice flies, fifth in batting average, and RBIs. Ashley was drafted by the Dallas Charge of the National Pro Fastpitch League where she played for 2 seasons. After her professional softball career, she went on to be a volunteer softball assistant coach at Purdue University. She received a degree in Applied Exercise and Health with a Sports Performance Concentration, with a Minor in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue University. Learn more about Ashley and what she is doing by following her on Facebook and Twitter.

Anna Irons

Softball Instructor

Serving as the starting pitcher at Saint Joseph high school for three years, and a two-year captain, Anna Irons lead the Indians to Semi-State four seasons in a row. Anna holds two school records in the most wins and most strikeouts, and was a two-time, first team all-NIC selection and two-time, all-state honorable mention. While in high school, she served as a student coach for Holy Family grade school, and at Chet Waggoner Little League working primarily with pitchers. Currently, Anna attends Saint Mary’s College and serves as the head JV softball coach at St. Joseph high school in South Bend.

Walter Lehmann

Pitching & Hitting Instructor

A graduate of Marian High School and Bethel College in Mishawaka, Walter Lehmann is an exceptional trainer, specializing in catching, pitching, and infielding. Currently, the head baseball coach at Concord High School, Lehmann is also an assistant coach for the South Bend Junior Silver Hawks. Every summer, he serves as a camp instructor for multiple University of Notre Dame and Bethel College summer camps.

Trace Myers

Hitting & Infield

Instructor

Trace Myers comes to the 1st Source Bank Performance Center from the University of Notre Dame where he worked in athletic program operations since 2014. Trace was a 4 year collegiate baseball player at Ancilla College and Holy Cross College respectively. At both institutions he played middle infield and ended his career with a 1.000 fielding percentage as a senior in 2012. Myers was also a .394 hitter as senior at North Newton Jr./Sr. High School in Morocco, IN where he also compiled all-area honors as well as first team all-conference honors in 2008. Trace also serves as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the Indiana University-South Bend Titan’s baseball program.

Bryan Schuler

Pitching Instructor

Bryan comes to the 1st Source Bank Performance Center with a wide variety of experience with the game in baseball. Originally from Iowa, Bryan was 1st team All State as a senior in high school. As a freshman and sophomore in college, Bryan pitched for Indiana Hills Junior College who played in the JUCO World Series. In the summer of 1992, he played in the Jayhawk Summer league, the same league that Mark Haley participated in while he was in college. For the final two years of college, Bryan pitched for Oral Roberts University and the University of Indianapolis. For the past 4 years, he has been the pitching coach for the Plymouth High School varsity team. Bryan has been married to his wife Amy since 1995 and has three children and one granddaughter.

Dustin Coffman

Hitting & Catching Instructor

Dustin Coffman started his coaching career in 2009 at Indiana University under Head Coach Tracy Smith where he helped recruit current major leaguer Kyle Schwarber. After spending one year in Bloomington coaching the Hoosiers, he spent the next three years coaching at junior college powerhouse Wabash Valley College. During his three-year tenure, the Warriors averaged 45 wins a year and had 12 players move onto professional baseball. He spent two summers coaching in the prestigious Cape Cod League where in 2011 he mentored Cape Cod MVP and current San Diego Padre Travis Jankowski. Coffman spent the last four years coaching at the University of Cincinnati where he coached former South Bend Cub and current Chicago Cub Ian Happ. In eight years of college baseball, Coach Coffman mentored over 60 draft picks including 14 Major Leaguers. Learn more about Dustin by following him on Twitter and Facebook.

Lessons

To speak with a trainer or for more information on custom training packages for individual or group lessons, call 574-404-3636.

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