John C.

I have been coaching or training teenage student athletes for 25 years. I have coached football all 25 of those years 20 years at the varsity level. I served as an assistant coach at East Canton, Canton McKinley, and Carrollton High Schools and was Strasburg High Schools head football coach the last 3 seasons and in 2016 will serve as defensive coordinator at Meadowbrook High School. I have also coached varsity fast-pitch softball for 14 years. I served as an assistant coach for 3 seasons and was head coach at East Canton, Canton McKinley, and Carrollton High Schools for 11 seasons. In addition to my coaching experience I am an elementary physical education teacher. I have experience working with student athletes of any age or level.

As a high school athlete I played football and ran track. After high school I played 5 seasons of semi-pro football in Canton, Ohio and participated in a wide range of recreational athletics including slow pitch softball and basketball. As a head softball coach I was a member of the Ohio High School Fast-Pitch Coaches Association and amassed over 100 victories in 12 seasons as a varsity high school fast pitch head coach. Even though I was a football player I love fast pitch softball and worked very hard to grow as a head coach yearly I attended clinics regularly to hone my skills so I could provide the proper skills needed to be a successful coach for my players and the youth teams in my schools to build for the future. Even though it's been a few years since I coached a fast pitch team I truly miss the game and I am excited for this great opportunity to give back to this great game by dedicating myself to helping some younger players get better and achieve all of their goals.

The instruction that I am focussing on is softball hitting, pitching, catching and fielding lessons. In a typical session we will always start with the fundamentals making sure the athlete is meeting the critical elements of the skill. The 1st session we will tape the athlete performing the skill. Video will create the opportunity for the athletes to see with their own eyes what they are doing well and what they need to work on. I like to break down any given skill into parts and work on them one part at a time and then piece everything together. There will be lots of drills, but they are drills that will serve a purpose. I am also a believer in creating sport specific workouts with a focus on improving the athletes core strength. So strength training will focus on training their bodies from the spine out (core training) with all the athletes I will be working with.