nelson@playballdirect.com 

chris@playballdirect.com

indians_baseball@live.com

David Haehnel is one of Play Ball USA's top pitching instructors, and also the General Manager of the Illinois Indians national travel program.

David played professionally in the Baltimore Orioles system.  An eighth round pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, he advanced all the way to Double-A after back-to-back All-Star seasons in his first two years of professional baseball.  His many accolades include being named MVP of the Aberdeen Ironbirds in 2004 and the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2005.

David had the opportunity to pitch for the Honolulu Sharks in the Hawaiian Winter League and was named to the post season All-Star Team.  One of the many highlights of David's career was pitching for the USA Olympic Qualifying team in 2006.

David's career started at nearby Wheeling High School, where he played one season under one time coach and former Play Ball USA owner, Ron Cacini.  He then moved on to UIC where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.

ryan@playballdirect.com

Ryan played varsity baseball for four years at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. During his tenure at North Central, Ryan played short stop and second base. He has graduated with a degree in Exercise Science and Business Administration. Ryan is a certified strength and conditioning specialist. He has previously worked with athletes of all different ages and sports in the areas of speed, strength, agility and plyometrics. Ryan offers private and group sports specific training, as well as personal training sessions at Play Ball USA.

Coach Ryan’s programs are designed to allow each player to reach his or her maximum potential.

steve@playballdirect.com

Steve joined Play Ball USA in 2007.  He recently completed his playing career at North Central College where he was the team's #1 starting pitcher for two seasons. Steve graduated from NCC is 2008 with a degree in Health & Physical Education.  In 2006, he was named a Division III "Player to be Watched" by Baseball America. 

Steve is a graduate of Elk Grove High School where he earned All-Conference honors in 2004 as a senior.  That same year, he was also named a top 100 player for the Chicagoland area.

In addition to his playing experience, Coach Steve has provided instruction at various summer camps. 

matt@playballdirect.com

Matt Mahay joined the Play Ball team in January of 2008.  He spent four years as a varsity outfielder for the North Central College Cardinals, while also seeing time at first base and on the mound.  In 2007, Matt led the Cardinals with a .342 average.  Matt’s experience also extends to four summers of semi-pro ball in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League as an Oak Forest Shooter.  In the summer of 2007 Matt was one of two Division III players to be named to the league’s all-college team.

Coach Matt has experience working with a variety of ages in camps at North Central College and now coaches the Indians 11U baseball team.

Joe joined Play Ball USA in 2006, after playing professionally in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.  Currently he is the Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach at Buffalo Grove High School, where during his first year as coach, he helped to take the team to the state finals!  Prior to this, Coach Joe played college baseball at John A. Logan College, Quincy University, and SIU-Carbondale.

Ryback spent the summer of 2008 as an assistant coach for the 12U Illinois Indians, the head coach for the 16U Schaumburg Seminoles American team, and assistant coach for the Buffalo Grove HS summer squad.

In addition to his playing and coaching experience, Coach Joe also specializes in various team building workshops.  Joe is also one of Play Ball USA's Fall Team coaches.

Kim joined Play Ball USA in the beginning of 2005. She was a four year starting pitcher at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. During her impressive collegiate career she was named All-Conference, All-Region and Conference Player of the Week. Prior to college, Kim was a four year starter on the Buffalo Grove High School softball team. While playing for the Bison, Kim was named All-Conference, All-Area, All-Area Captain and All-State Honorable Mention. Currently Kim continues to play on a competitive women’s traveling softball team.

In addition to her impressive career as a player, Kim also coached the Freshman summer team at Buffalo Grove High School, and has prior experience providing private instruction and running softball camps.

Cory's professional career began in 2005 when he was drafted by the Houston Astros organization in the 11th round.  During his two seasons with the Astros, the left-hander went 3-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 36 relief appearances.  He struck out 87 batter and allowed just 38 hits in 70 innings pitched.  After playing for the Astros Cory took his talent to the Windy City Thunderbolts.

Prior to his professional career, Cory played at Illinois Wesleyan University where he starred both on and off the mound.  During his final season at IWU, he posted an 8-1 record with a 1.91 ERA, helping the Titans with a second straight CCIW Championship.  He was just as dangerous at the plate that year where he batted .276 with 8 doubles, 12 homers and 42 RBI.  In 2004 he was voted "Player of the Year" in the CCIW.  Cory is a graduate of Maine East High School.

Rick DeHart is the first member of the Play Ball USA staff with "Big League" experience. DeHart, a left-handed pitcher, played parts of four Major League seasons with the Montreal Expos and Kansas City Royals from 1997-2003. 

DeHart’s professional career began in 1992 and since that time he has thrown over 1,000 professional innings for several different organizations including: Montreal, Los Angeles and Kansas City.  Coach Dehart also has professional international playing experience playing abroad in Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Japan.

Most recently, DeHart was the pitching coach for the Kansas City T-Bones.  While in Kansas City DeHart won the Northern League Championship

Kevin is currently a minor league catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies Organization. He is coming off his 6th season of professional baseball, making stops with 3 different organizations at every level of minor league baseball.  Kevin was originally signed by the New York Yankees in the summer of 2003 and spent 4 years in their system.

In the spring of 2007 Kevin signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and played the '07 season in West Lansing, Michigan.  Kevin started the '08 season with Toronto until a trade at the all-star break sent him to the Phillies Double-A affiliate in Reading, PA.

After graduating from Rolling Meadows High School , Kevin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Community Physical Education from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Chris joined the Play Ball USA staff in 2006.  He is an experienced coach who has worked within the Schaumburg Park District and various suburban travel teams since graduating from DePaul University.  He plays competitively with the Chicago Lugnuts, and also spends his summers at Alexian Field working with pitchers as the Schaumburg Flyers bullpen catcher.

In 1999, Chris was a member of the Mid-Suburban League West champion Conant Cougars, and after their playoff run ended he was presented with the team "Unsung Hero Award".

Chris currently works as a firefighter with the Lombard Fire Department.  He has worked with baseball and softball players of all ages through camps and clinics presented by both the Schaumburg Flyers and Chicago Lugnuts. 

Rob Marconi has been a member of the Play Ball family since the fall of 2007.  Originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2005, Marconi was a versatile utility man in the Orioles organization for parts of 3 seasons.

After leaving the Orioles, Marconi played a season each for the Schaumburg Flyers, Windy City Thunderbolts, and Gary Railcats.

Marconi played his college ball at Northern Illinois University where he is still the schools all-time leader in home runs and RBI's.  He is currently pursuing a teaching degree.

Bart is a native of Louisiana, and attended El Camino College in California.  He was drafted in the 35th round by the Cleveland Indians, but decided instead to finish his college career at University of Illinois - Chicago.  In 2006, while playing outfield for the Flames, Bart lead the Horizon League in two of the three Triple Crown categories, belting 18 home runs while driving in 65 RBI.  His home run and RBI outputs were both UIC single-season school records.  As a senior he hit .340 in 54 games, slugging .695 and stealing a team-leading 10 bases in the process.  In addition to his playing experience, Bart has provided private instruction and run various camps and clinics for players of all ages.

Kiley has started her college career strong pitching for Central College in Della, Iowa. While at Prospect High School Kiley broke the most strikeouts in a Season Record with 286 stikeouts in 2006. She continued her success in 2007 breaking her previous record with 525 Strikeouts in 2007. Kiley’s records continue as she broke the most Doubles record in 2007 alongside breaking the Most RBI’s record with 69 RBI’s. With all of her Achievement’s, Kiley assisted Prospect to the school’s winningest team in history.

Mark currently plays first base in the Houston Astros Organization after being drafted by them in the 14th round in 2005.  Ori spent the last two seasons with the Astros High Class-A team in Salem, VA.  He set career highs in 2008 for hits, RBI's, 2B's, and runs scored after working with the Play Ball staff over the winter of 2007/2008.

Prior to his professional career, Mark played at Northwestern University where he started 154-of-155 games played, along with producing a .325 career batting average.  He also set career highs in every offensive category and was named third-team All Big Ten and voted co-MVP by his teammates.

Mark is a graduate of Maine South High School where he earned eight varsity letters - three in baseball, two in football and two in hockey.  While at Maine South he was named  the 2002 Chicago Sun Times Player of the Year, along with being selected as one of America's Top 150 baseball players as a senior.  In addition to his impressive stats as an athlete, Mark was also a four year honor roll student.

Bill joined Play Ball USA as an instructor in 2004.  He is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University where he was an All-Conference NAIA District 20 second and third baseman and Team Captain. After college, Bill played 12 years of semi-professional baseball in Lombard, Northbrook and Chicago, and one year of Independent League baseball in Green Bay.

Currently Bill is the assistant sophomore baseball coach at Notre Dame High School in Niles, IL.

In addition to his playing experience, Bill has over 20 years of experience providing private baseball instruction, and over 8 years of coaching experience in the Niles Little League program. Bill also coached the 13 & 14 year old Niles Bandit travel team from 2004-2006.

Stephanie played outfield for the Southeast Missouri Redhawks where she was a 4 letter winner and 2007 Team MVP.  In addition to playing, Stephanie has also coached several travel softball teams (12U - 18U) and at Cape Central High School.

Prior to her collegiate career, Stephanie was a standout shortstop at Wheeling High School where she earned honors as team MVP, three-time All-Conference Player, two-time All-Area Player of the Year, Wheeling Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year. and clinics for players of all ages.

Mike joined Play Ball USA as a hitting instructor in 2006.  He was an Assistant Baseball Coach at University of Illinois-Chicago.  Prior to coaching, Mike played professionally  in the Anaheim Angels organization.  During his time with the Angels affiliate, the team earned the 2004 & 2005 Pioneer League Champion title.

Mike is a graduate of UIC where he also played for the Flames.  He was named the 2003 Horizon League Tournament MVP, and was also a two-time First Team All-Horizon League selection while at UIC.

Andy joined Play Ball USA as an instructor in 2006.  He attended the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where he was a three year starter.  While at UW-Parkside, Andy climbed the statistical ladder and ended his career among the top five in both assists and runs scored.  His best season at Parkside was in 2004 when he hit .328 with 45 RBIs and 48 runs scored.  Prior to his collegiate career, Andy was a two year starter at Hersey High School, and a three year starter for the Arlington Legion Post 208.  While playing for Arlington, he went to the Illinois State Finals two consecutive years.

In addition to his playing experience, Andy has provided baseball instruction to players of all ages, and also coaches a local youth basketball team.