OUR INSTRUCTORS

Baseball

Timothy Gordon

Timothy is from Southern California and has over a decade of experience as a catcher. He trained at Tread Athletics in North Carolina, specializing in advanced player development. He started at Roane State Community College last year and was a three-time First Team All-League selection in high school. Timothy is passionate about helping players improve their skills and reach their goals. He specializes in catching and hitting development.

Brody Ballou

Brody, a native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, played two seasons at Chattanooga State Community College, appearing in all 106 games over that span, displaying hard work and diligence during his time. He posted a career batting average of .325 and made an immediate impact in his freshman season, earning the All-Conference Team honors. That year, he batted .356 with 64 hits, including 17 doubles and 5 home runs, while also recording 25 stolen bases. Brody is passionate about player development and is dedicated to helping athletes reach their full potential in the game. He specializes in outfield instruction and hitting, bringing a strong foundation of experience and a player-first approach to his guiding.

Braden Hawn

Hi my name is Braden Hawn, I’m from Cookeville and all I know is sports and baseball. I played baseball for about 14 years and that’s all my life consisted of. From league ball, to middle school, to travel ball, to high school. I have played competitive ball for a very long time and played every position on the field. I have pitched my entire time as a baseball player. I coach everything from fundamentals, to different pitches and special techniques on the mound. I have a passion to help with the mental side of the game because baseball is more than just throwing, catching and hitting. I have helped coach many different teams as well as personal training at camps. My ultimate goal is to train any player to be better than they thought they ever could be.

Softball

Abby Shoulders

Abby played and started all 47 of the team's games in the 2024 campaign ... batted .268 with 40 hits -- including seven doubles and a home run -- while driving in 22 and coming home to score 33 times ... drew 12 walks and hit by four pitches compared to eight strikeouts ... was 23-for-26 on stolen bases ... had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in the outfield with 65 putouts and two assists. A highly-decorated student-athlete from nearby Lafayette, Shoulders lettered in three sports at Macon County High School, softball, basketball and soccer.

Ella Bishop

Played and started in 39 games ... posted a .246 batting average with 29 hits -- including a double and a triple ... drove in six runs and came home 16 times ... was 2-for-3 on stolen bases. Bishop had an excellent High School campaign. She batting .553 with a .583 on-base percentage and an .850 slugging percentage. She had six home runs in her final prep campaign as she was named County Player of the Year and district co-MVP and was named to the All-Midstate team. 

Mariam Nash

Mariam is a former collegiate softball player and experienced coach specializing in hitting, catching and fielding instruction. At Soddy Daisy High School, she was part of the 2010 state championship team and the 2011 runner-up team, earning First Team Best of Preps honors. She continued her career at East Tennessee State University before transferring to Bryan College where she earned First Team All-Conference honors in 2015 and 2016, finishing with a .338 career batting average and a .939 fielding percentage. A true utility player with experience at third base, shortstop, first base, outfield and catcher. She has coached travel softball for the Fury Organization and Team Worth, as well as serving as an assistant coach at Upperman High for 7 years. She now shares her knowledge and passion for the game through hitting, catching and fielding lessons, helping athletes develop their skills and reach their full potential.

Monie Pruitt

Monie has 23 years of tumble coaching experience with 8 years as a classroom art teacher. She has cheer experience at the collegiate level as an athlete and coaching experience at the high school and middle school levels, all star cheer and tumbling class instructor. She is very passionate about tumbling technique and values quality instruction/connection with athletes in this sport. With safety being a top priority, she loves teaching athletes to tumble and specialize in building personal confidence that can foster them not only in the sport but also in life!

Tumble

Lainey Russell

Bio Coming Soon!

Volleyball

Laura Canada

Laura’s love for volleyball began in 5th grade and hasn’t stopped since! Originally from Ohio, she was recruited to play at Tennessee Tech University as an Outside Hitter. During her career, she became a member of the Double Grand club with 1,406 kills and 1,147 digs, one of only 11 players in program history. She still holds the individual match record for most kills per set and total kills in both three and five sets. Contributing on and off the court, she was the 2004 Tennessee Tech Athletics Woman of the Year. She played high level club ball at Cleveland Volleyball Company prior to college. She has high school and club coaching experience. She loves to teach all aspects of the game specializing in proper mechanics to maximize the athlete’s potential.

Olivia Szylar

Olivia is a former D1 volleyball player who played at Eastern Michigan University as a Setter. Prior to her college career she played for Sports Performance Volleyball Club in Illinois where her tam won three consecutive AAU National Championships. She is currently a grad student at Tennessee Tech University and is the Strength and Conditioning coach for various sports. She is a certified coach by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, USA Weightlifting and CrossFit Level 1 certified. Olivia loves to coach all positions in volleyball and introduce the game to new athletes!

Staci Wiegand

Bio Coming Soon!

Basketball

Dustin Baxter

Dustin is from Cookeville, Tn. He played at Upperman high school. He split his college years with Maryville College and Lagrange College helping achieve 3 NCAA tournament appearances. He played professionally against top teams in England and Finland., and finished out his professional career with the Harlem Ambassadors. Dustin likes meeting athletes where they are at in their development and works with all ages and skill levels.

Jack Oakley

Jack is from Cookeville and played at Cookeville High School where he led the team to a state championship appearance his senior year. Jack also led the state of Tennessee with 100 three-pointers his senior year. He just finished his freshman year playing basketball for Young Harris College, a Division II program in Northern Georgia. Jack loves working with athletes of all ages and levels who want to max out their potential while having fun playing the game he loves.