BILL OLSEN:
Serves as Director of Baseball Operations for the Illinois Charger Organization. Played 3 years on the Varsity Level earning All-SICA North in 1986 along with honorable mention Southtown All-Area Team. Was voted in the top 5 for player of the year in the SICA North Conference in 1986 and later was inducted into the Oak Lawn High School top 50 baseball players in Oak Lawn High School's history. Went on to play college baseball at Division I School-Southern IL Univ.-Carbondale where he lead the JV team with a .417 AVG. Bill's knowledge and passion for the game makes him a great asset to this organization. He currently coaches the 16U team.
INSTRUCTORS BELOW WORK WITH ILLINOIS CHARGER PLAYERS:
ALEX PADILLA:
Alex played 4 years at De La Salle HS. All-Catholic League. Attended University of Illinois Chicago where he earned Horizon Relief Pitcher of the year in 2017 and 2019. He also earned NCBWA All-American 3rd team in 2017. He was a 2X Horizon League Champion while posting a 1.76 ERA in 97.1 innings while limiting opponents to a .186 Average. Alex works with our pitchers and also sports performance training.
ITSH:
Played 3 years on varisty basketball while attending Reavis HS and 2 years of volleyball. He earned All-Conf. in both basketball and volleyball. Went on to play 2 years of hoops at Moraine Valley College where he earned all-academic honors in 2015 and 2016. Earned a roster spot on Coach McClain's UIC basketball team in 2017. Itsh works with all our team's sports performance training.
LUCAS FRITSCH:
Lucas played four years at St. Xavier University where he became a dominant pitcher. He has over 7 years as a pitching instructor who instills fundamentals and gets the best out of each pitcher. Lucas is currently on Marist HS staff as well.
ERIC PAPPAS:
Pappas, a former St. Louis Cardinals catcher, begins his second season as a coach in the Cardinals system, he will serve as the Springfield Cardinals Hitting Coach for the 2014 season. Pappas spent the 2012 campaign as the Hitting Coach for the Peoria Chiefs (Low-A). Prior to joining the Cardinals ranks, Pappas spent 2006–12 at the Cangelosi Baseball Academy in Orland Park, Illinois, while also serving as a scout for the Texas Rangers from 2005 to 2009.
He appeared in 8 games for the Cubs during the 1991 season and appeared in a total of 97 games for the Cardinals during 1993 and 1994 seasons. During the 1993 season, he had one home run and 28 RBIs.
A 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) catcher, Pappas played in a total of 104 games with a .242 batting average in his Major League Baseball career. Pappas, who is of Greek ancestry, was selected to play for the Greek national baseball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Pappas currently resides in the Beverly neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois.
DICK CANNON:
Dick Canan is a product of Reavis High School in Burbank. Coach Canan was drafted out of high school and played in the Chicago Cubs organization from 1985-1991, reaching the AAA level. He has also taught Mathematics at both the Junior High and High School level. Currently Coach Canan is entering his 23rd season as an Assistant Coach at Reavis High School! Coach always says... "I believe the love of practice is the root of continued improvement and results'...
JONATHAN NUNEZ:
The Illinois Chargers welcome Jonathan Nunez who is a graduate from NIU with a Bachelors in Pre-Physical Therapy in 2011 and obtained a Masters in Exercise Physiology from Benedictine University in 2013. During his tenure at NIU, he spent 3 years aiding the coaches for the NIU baseball team. Since then, he worked at Acceleration Sports Performance in Naperville for 1 year, trained club volleyball teams at Burbank Fusion Recplex for 2 years, managed a fitness center downtown for Advocate Healthcare, and became Crossfit Level 1 certified. Besides working in fitness and training others,he is very serious about his own personal workout regimen. On average, he attends Crossfit classes 3 days a week, while incorporating additional fitness methods for the remainder of the week, such as high intensity training, sports performance, and mobility training.
TROY DEQUAINE:
Troy graduated with honors from Carroll University in 2007 with a B.S. in Exercise Science. In the fall of 2006 he began working at NX Level Sports Performance in WI. While with NX Level Troy had the opportunity to help athletes of all ages, sports and ability levels-from Pros to elementary school-achieve athletic success. His methods are simple, progressive and effective. Troy has taken the Illinois Chargers to the next level of play on & off the field with his great work at the Fusion Recplex increasing players exit velocity and arm strength.
RYAN BUCHLER:
(Catcher) ST. XAVIER graduate 2007 – All –Conference, NAIA Great Lakes All-Star, Team Captain and Team MVP.
ADAM NORTON:
(Infield/Pitcher) University of NOTRE DAME graduate 2013 – 4 year Monogram winner holds both career school records for fewest walks per nine innings pitched and strikeout-to-walk ratio, Named 2009 Prep Baseball Indiana High School player of the year
Kyle Kobernus:
Kyle Kobernus (BA, CSCS), was a top baseball player in the state of Illinois attending Naperville North High School, earning All-Conference and All-Area honors. He then earned scholarships to both Elgin Community College and then Judson University earning All-Region honors and MVP. After completing college baseball, he then played professional baseball as a starting pitcher for the Gary South-Shore Railcats and then the Newark Bears. Kyle has been teaching baseball and giving private lessons for 12 years now where he started working baseball camps at the Chicago Bulls/WhiteSox Training Academy in 2003 and then started as a private baseball instructor in 2005.
Kyle studied Exercise/Sport Science from Judson University and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Kyle developed his love for fitness since his early years in high school and his passion for it has grown ever since. In 2009, Kyle did his internship under Mark Crabtree for Explosion Sports Performance at the Chicago Bulls/WhiteSox Training Academy where Kyle has trained as a baseball player and athlete since 2002. After completing his internship and ending his baseball career, Kyle knew that he wanted to be a strength coach. Kyle constantly wants to learn and develop his coaching methods and training in order to get the best results for the clients and athletes. Trying to always come up with new, creative training programs and routines is one of the attributes that Kyle has in order to always create a smart, fun and intense atmosphere when training people. Kyle uses his education and experience to help develop and improve people’s health and work ethic to help them get the results they need. Kyle has worked with people of all ages and has also worked with MLB athletes, Division 1 athletes, and Elite high school athletes and travel teams in the Chicagoland area
Mick Curran:
Mick Curran joins the staff at Diamond Edge Academy after wrapping up his six season as the hitting coach for the Gary RailCats. Mick is highly respected in the baseball world for both his high level understanding of the game, as well as his incredible passion for teaching. In addition, to his six years in professional baseball, Mick accepted his first managerial position, with the Medicine Hat Mavericks in the Western Major Baseball League, a Canadian collegiate summer league. Mick helped lead the 2013 Mavericks to the all-time WMBL league record in wins (39-7) and the team's second consecutive birth in the WMBL Championship Series. Mick is also a bi-product of John Mallee, spending five years working alongside him with some of the top major and minor league players in the country. He played collegiately at Illinois Wesleyan where he was a three-time First Team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin selection
Sam Zagorac:
Sam Zagorac is the lead baseball instructor at Diamond Edge Academy. Sam is a former collegiate player who began his coaching career in 1996, spending the first 8 years working alongside and under the tutelage of John Mallee. John, who is currently the hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs, is widely viewed as one of the top hitting instructors in the country. Along with spending years working under John, Sam has also had the opportunity to work minor league Spring Training camp with the Florida Marlins and has spent the 2011-2013 springs in Glendale instructing at White Sox Spring Training.In addition, to his time with the Chicago White Sox and John Mallee, Sam was an assistant coach at Mount Carmel High School for 10 years. Sam, an expert in the field of high-speed video analysis, along with his strong reputation as a great communicator and having an incredible understanding of the swing, has led many professional players to him in the past several years as well. Sam's teaching style has resulted in many of his players moving on to the collegiate level and several reaching their dreams of signing a professional contract. Sam has given more than 25,000 private lessons and employs video analysis with each hitter he works with. He is also a frequent speaker on the national coaching clinic tour
Marty Kobernus:
Marty Kobernus is the senior pitching instructor at Diamond Edge Academy, and arguably one of the best pitching instructors in the Midwest. His long list of students include over 45 who have signed professional contracts, and well over 200 who have moved on to play at the collegiate level. Marty's 25+ years of teaching experience and willingness to use high-speed video has added to his mastery of mechanics, leading him to be able to teach to the needs of each individual pitcher. Marty pitched professionally in the Cleveland Indians organization.
