Gary Denbo
Toronto Blue Jays   

   Gary Denbo has played a major role in developing the talents of New York Yankee players into Major League caliber hitters.
   Thought by many in professional baseball to be one of the top young hitting instructors in the game, Gary has been instrumental in developing hitters such as Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Ricky Ledee, Alfonso Soriano, and many other successful major leaguers. Described by Yankees skipper Joe Torre as a “workaholic”, Torre says, “Gary has brought a fresh voice, a new approach and a tireless nature and openness to incorporating new technologies”.
   Players swear by Gary’s communication and teaching skills, and believe slumps will be more short-lived because of his ability to spot and correct flaws quickly. Gary, considered a ‘new age hitting instructor’, has developed a method of combining video and computer analysis of the baseball swing. He’ll explain how to teach batters to create a solid foundation, create a loading action and how to create balance at touchdown during three of his six sessions at Thursday Night Thunder. He’s back for more Friday with two full sessions where he will do video analysis to teach the progression for hitters and correct hitting flaws.
   He uses a library built with the swings of top hitters in the game to serve as a teaching source in developing proper swing technique. Gary is now in his 19th year in professional baseball. Following a four-year playing career, he became a coach in the Cincinnati Reds organization before joining the Yankees as a minor league manager in 1990.
   Denbo’s effect on young hitters still applies even after they leave the Yankees. When the Red Sox Mike Lowell got to Columbus in 1998, he hit 26 homers and knocked in 99 runs while hitting .304. He said he is still indebted to Denbo for making him a hitter.
   “He didn’t change my swing but he changed my thought process,” said Lowell. Which is what he aims to do for your hitters.

     PAT McMAHON
New York Yankees
 

    Way before Pat McMahon took over the head coaching position at Florida in June of 2001, compiling a record of 231-143-1 (.617) during his six seasons his reputation was known across the land as a developer of pitchers. He brings that expertise to the “Be the Best You Are’’ clinic this year. McMahon will be part of Thursday Night Thunder where he will offer six sessions including how to teach pitchers to SPACE their fastball, use the slide step and field the position. Friday, in two main sessions, McMahon explains pitching from A-to-Z, including the major points in developing a pitching plan. In another session he breaks down pitching mechanics, explaining what happens in each phase. Florida advanced to the NCAA Tournament in four of the six years under his guidance and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 College World Series. McMahon arrived at Florida after serving for four years as the head coach at SEC Western Division rival Mississippi State. While manning the bench in Starkville, he directed the Bulldogs to a College World Series appearance in 1998; consecutive NCAA Super Regional berths when the format changed in 2000 and 2001 and four-straight NCAA Regional berths. From 1983-89, he served as an assistant for Ron Polk, helping the Bulldogs scale new heights on the diamond. McMahon guided Old Dominion to newfound prominence between 1990-94, including two NCAA Regional appearances. In 2001 McMahon served as head coach of the USA Baseball National Team for the third time. McMahon has been a loyal speaker at the “Be the Best You Are’’ clinics. He first appeared in 1982.

   John Cohen has established himself as a coach who makes sure about the details. It has helped him become successful at the highest of levels, including the 2006 season when he was named the SEC Coach of the Year and the National Coach of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation.
   One of the hottest young coaches in the nation, Cohen will speak on a wide variety of topics at Thursday Thunder including how to create big innings with base running, create video that can change your program and how to teach your fielders to communicate. Friday, in a main session, he will help you get your best players prepared for the recruiting wars and give a series of drills that should be used daily to develop infielders.
   Cohen had established himself as one of the best hitting coaches in the country during his two year stay at the University of Florida before getting the head job at Kentucky. In Gainesville, his Gator offenses pulverized opponents pitching and led the SEC in nearly every statistical category. In 2002, Cohen’s offense led the nation in hits while ranking second in batting average, runs scored and home runs.
   Cohen began his coaching career as an assistant at Missouri. His college-playing career came under Ron Polk at Mississippi State where the Bulldogs reached NCAA regional play in his three years there before being drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

Dave Serrano
Cal- State
Fullerton

Head Coach Dave Serrano and the UC Irvine Anteaters gained national recognition after going 2-2 in the program’s first Division I College World Series appearance. For his efforts, Serrano was named 2007 Baseball America Coach of the Year.
   In just three seasons at the helm of the Anteater squad, Serrano has posted a 114-66-1 record (.633) and made two NCAA appearances. Prior to his stint at UC Irvine, he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Big West foe Cal State Fullerton.
   Serrano, the 2004 Assistant Coach of the Year when he served as pitching coach for national champion Cal State Fullerton, becomes the first person to earn Assistant Coach of the Year and Coach of the Year honors.
   Serrano knew something about getting to Omaha. He had done it five times as an assistant coach with Tennessee and Fullerton, even winning a national championship with the Titans in 2004, when he earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors. So when the Anteaters were shipped to the Round Rock regional as a No. 2 seed and pitted against No. 4 national seed Texas, Serrano wasn’t daunted. Instead, he simply turned Irvine into a program that can now say it knows how to get to Omaha.
   They earned a trip to the College World Series in just the sixth season since the program was reinstated after a 10-year hibernation.
   Serrano brings his knowledge of pitching in his first visit to the “Be the Best You Are’’ clinic. He will spend six sessions at Friday Lightning explaining how he teaches pitching mechanics, the mentality to be a pitcher and how he sets up a throwing schedule for your pitcher. He takes center stage Saturday with a main session where he explains bullpen sessions and how they can dictate a pitchers success.

Tom Slater
Auburn University

  
   Tom Slater is in the midst of putting Auburn among college baseball’s elite. A strong national recruiter and the architect of consecutive top-20 recruiting classes, Slater has been charged with returning the Auburn baseball team to the heights and successes it enjoyed while he was an assistant from 1995 -2000.
   Known as a tireless worker both on and off the diamond, Slater has found success at each of his coaching stops. During his first stint at Auburn, he helped guide the Tigers to five NCAA Regional appearances before moving to his alma mater, Virginia Military Institute, where he led the Keydets to school records in wins in just three seasons. He then spent a year as an assistant at Florida, helping the Gators to a Super Regional berth, before returning to guide the Tigers. Slater spent 2006 as an assistant coach for the USA National Team that won a gold medal at the FISU Championships in Cuba. With the team he was in charge of running the offense. Not only did the team finish with its best record in National Team history at 28-2-1 but it also became the first USA Baseball National team to ever win gold in Cuba.
   Slater will use Friday Night Lightning sessions to stress how to make in-game adjustments as a hitter, how to approach (hitting counts) and how to know yourself (mental approach) as a hitter. In a main session Saturday, Slater will explain how to prepare your hitters for on-field success.

   Fred Hill, the veteran head coach for the Scarlet Knights, was named the East Region Division I Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association for his success last season, his 24th, when Rutgers finished the campaign 42-21 overall, tying for the most wins in the history of the program. The Scarlet Knights captured both the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championship, advancing to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2003. Hill won his 900th career game at UCF on March 17. He owns a 935-578-6 record in 31 years as a collegiate head coach and a 787-472-6 record in 24 seasons at Rutgers. Hill is one of the top-20 winningest active coaches in the NCAA.
   Hill has spent 31 years as a collegiate head coach, and he remains as focused, committed and enthusiastic as he was back in 1984, when he accepted the challenge of coaching a team that was coming off a 13-22 record in 1983 and had not appeared in an NCAA Tournament in 14 years. Hill proceeded to build Rutgers baseball into what it is today - a program that is among the best in the country, is consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally and is always in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth.
   To do that, he has stressed fielding fundamentals. How he goes about doing things, such as teaching the feed and double plays, and successful infield drills will be part of Friday Night Lightning sessions. He’ll also show you how you can battle the elements with indoor practice sessions or well-organized outdoor sessions that prepare teams to win.
   In the main session Saturday, Hill will show how the Knights exploit opponents with an aggressive base running philosophy that is done the correct way.

   When the New York Yankees began their season with a number of leg injuries they knew they had to make some changes. They called upon Russell, a noted athletic trainer specializing in professional baseball, to change their ways. As usual, he had success.
   Russell heads the NASM Health Science Institute - which provides scientifically valid and evidence-based solutions in health and fitness. His former work as a certified athletic trainer with the world champion Anaheim Angels baseball club has produced dramatic results in off season training. He has also reconditioned hundreds of professional baseball and football players as well as elite track and field, college and high-school athletes. Working with schools has become a major focus for the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), according to Russell.
   At Friday Night Lightning, Russell will show you how to improve on the physical aspects of your players. How to maximize speed and quickness, how to identify injury risk and how to eliminate a “dead arm’’ are just some of the topics he will explain in the 25-minute sessions. Then he opens Saturday’s main event with a session on integrated training for peak performance for your players. He spent nine seasons with the Anaheim Angels as a certified athletic trainer. Alan has reconditioned hundreds of professional baseball and football players, as well as elite track-and-field, college and high-school athletes. He received his Bachelor of Science from Boise State University (1992) and his Master of Science from California University of Pennsylvania (2004).