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Baseball Staff

Rod Myers

 

 

Rod Myers, started in 2009 teaching youth the game of baseball by giving private instruction as a favor to help his friend and former KC Royals teammate Les Norman this opened the door to also coaching showcase teams. Since 2009 he has had teams that played under the Swing Builder & The KC Sluggers banner. In 2011 Rod started team consulting for two younger division teams and has continued to help support local teams. At the end of 2012 he ventured on his own and created his own team academy KC Elite which had teams in 13U-18u division. Rod enjoys coaching and teaching baseball/softball to young men and women. Rod has a very unique talent of teaching/coaching that allows him to work with children of all ages. Rod resides in the Lees Summit, MO area with Patricia Corpus-Myers, his wife and their 3 children; Marcel, Jasmine, and Juliana.Rod has over 10+ years of experience playing professional baseball. He was drafted by the KC Royals in 1991 in the 12th Round after graduating from Conroe High School in Conroe, Tx. He was an all-state performer in both baseball and football, he was a quarterback in football and turned down a scholarship to play football for Texas A&M. He went on to play at a professional level for the KC Royals and made his big league debut in 1996 and went on to play in the majors for 2+ years.

Minors:

Roderick was Kansas City’s 13th round selection in the 1991 June Agent Draft.

Led the Texas League in hits with 153, while his .307 batting average placed 9th in 1995

Tied 3rd in the league in at bats with 499, was 4th in stolen bases with 29.

Earned American Association Player of the week honors back-to-back weeks.

Hit .252 with 10 doubles in 38 games with the O-Royals.

Majors:

Named the Royals 5th best prospects by Baseball America following the season.

Considered a 5 tool player.

7-game stretch hitting .379 including 4 doubles, 2 home runs, and 7 RBI

Finished with a .257 batting average, 14 runs, 2 homers, and 9 RBI in 31 games.

Steve Willis Steve Willis, graduated from Ell-Saline High School near Salina, KS where he was an All-State performer in baseball, basketball and football during high-school and played in 3 State tournaments for baseball.  Steve chose to play baseball and football in college at Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU).  At KWU, Steve played at a high level in both sports.  Steve was a part of 2 conference championships in football and 1 conference championship in baseball.  Steve is currently Kansas Wesleyan University’s all-time leader in career receptions, career yards and career touchdowns for the KWU football program.  Steve went on to play Arena Football for 2 years.In 2008 Steve stepped back into baseball again when he began coaching for the Salina Rookies, a USSSA showcase team.  The Salina Rookies won 2 Kansas State Championships and 8 of the 12 players signed to play in college.

In 2010 Steve joined Rod Myers and the KC Elite Organization and has been coaching the KC Elite White 16U Team.

Along with coaching baseball, Steve currently works full time as the Deputy Director of the Douglas County, Kansas Community Corrections Agency.  There he over-sees staff that provide intensive supervision, incorporating community resources and evidence-based practices that enhance public safety and reduce offender recidivism. He currently resides in Topeka, KS with his wife Rachel Willis.

Dan Aguilar  Info coming soon.
Cody Higgins Cody Higgins,  played high school ball in Jefferson City, MO at Jefferson City High School (class of ’04)
– Three year letter winner in Football and Baseball
– All District and All State Honorable Mention in baseball in ’03 and ’04 (Pitcher)Played his first two years of college ball at Maple Woods Community College, Kansas City, MO
– 2 year starter (Pitcher)
– Region 16 Championship in 2005
– Summer after sophomore year he played for the Parkville Sluggers in the MINK League

Played his next two years at Division 1 – Charleston Southern University, Charleston, SC
– 2 year starter (until injury in his senior year)
– Summer after Cody’s junior year he played for the New Bern River Rats in the Coastal Plains League

2009 he moved to Blue Springs, MO.  Where he lives with his wife Bailey.  Currently Cody work’s for Philadelphia Insurance Companies as an Assistant Underwriter.

In 2012 Cody started coaching for KC Elite. He was able to work with Rod Myers on 14u team in the Spring and Summer. Cody finished off the year with KC Elite White 16U Team. In addition Cody has given pitching lessons to local kids in the area.

Russ Barker Russ Barker is the CEO/Founder of ProPerformance Institute, LLC. ProPerformance applies the science of biomechanics and physiology to change the way athletes are trained and developed using 3D motion analysis and online collaboration tools.

  • ProPerformance was the first and still the only company in Missouri that uses 3-D motion analysis technology to evaluate sports biomechanics.
  • It is also currently developing an online platform (ProPerformance360) that will allow youth and amateur sports organizations across the world to collaborate in developing training and injury prevention protocols using 3D analysis data.
  • ProPerformance currently assists college development baseball organizations in 8 states in the biomechanics of hitting, pitching and baserunning.
  • In partnership with some of the leading medical professionals in sports medicine, ProPerformance is currently developing the first physician-led sports performance/pitching lab in Missouri.
  • In 2011, Russ was approved as a researcher for the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine’s national study on youth pitching injuries.

 

Russ is also the Founder of ProPitch, LLC. ProPitch was started with the guidance of several current D1 and D2 college pitching coaches, physical therapists and sports medicine doctors. ProPitch was started to change the way youth and amateur pitchers are trained and developed to slow the epidemic rate of arm injuries in youth pitchers. ProPitch’s activities were integrated with ProPerformance at the end of 2011.

 

Russ has coached amateur pitchers from age 12 to 19 for the last 7 years. This year, Russ was invited to speak and coach at the USSSA/Stars and Stripes Winter World Championships in Orlando, FL.

 

Prior to starting ProPitch and ProPerformance, Russ held various executive leadership positions in rehabilitation centers, sub-acute facilities, assisted living centers and nursing homes for almost 20 years.

 

Russ received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Mizzou. He holds a Master’s in Health Care Administration.

 

In 2012 Russ became the pitching coach for KC Elite Teams.

Jeremy Rogers Coming Soon
Ray Jaso Coming Soon
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