Baseball Coaches - Wheatland Ducks Baseball in Naperville IL

DUCKS BASEBALL PATHWAY

FEET FIRST

18 months to 5 years old introduction to soccer

JUNIORS REC

Our amazing rec program provides parents and players to opportunity to practice and play the beautiful game

PRO - ACADEMY

performance phase - an emphasis on the team performance whilst continuing to develop the individuals ability to impact the result

ACADEMY (U7 - U10)

development phase - building the techical foundation of our players

FUTURES (U11 - U12)

game development phase - this phase takes the techical foundation build within our academy and

PERFORMANCE (U13 - U19)

5- 10 years old for those looking to get an insight into travel/competitive soccer

COLLEGIATE + U19+

result phase is a program that offers our collegiate players the opportunity to continue development through the summer

DUCKS ACADEMY™ INSTRUCTORS & BASEBALL COACHES

Rich Janor

Director

Founder of Ducks Baseball and Head Coach of the original Ducks team (2003)
Head Varsity Baseball Coach at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, IL
High School Varsity Coach of the Year in 2011, 2013 (IHSBCA Area)
IHSA 3A State Finalist (2013) and IHSA 3A Elite Eight (2011)

Bill Smith

Director – Ducks Gold™

30+ year veteran of amateur baseball
Former player and coach at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, IL
Disciple of the legendary Coach Gordie Gillespie
Former High School Coach at St. Joseph High School in Westchester, IL

Brian Smith

Director – Ducks Academy™

Former standout pitcher at Northern Illinois University
Master’s Degree in Sports Management
Former Coach of the Madison Mallards (Northwoods League)
Former Pitching Coach for Windy City Thunderbolts
Former Manager of the Rockford Rivets
Current Manager of the Windy City Thunderbolts
Current WAA Manager of Programing

Cal Djuraskovic

Played Collegiately at Central Michigan University and Davenport University
Pitching Coach at Prairie State College
Professional Pitcher (Windy City ThunderBolts)
2023 Frontier League All Star Pitcher

Scott Kelsch

Former baseball player at Naperville North High School, College of DuPage and Benedictine University
Four years as a head coach for Ducks Baseball 9U-12U
Multiple years as a paid travel baseball coach/instructor for ages 10U-16U in various organizations
USA Baseball Coach Certified
Past president of the Oswego East All Sports Boosters
Two adult children, Riley and Alex, former Oswego East HS and college athletes played for the Spikes and Ducks. Riley is an assistant softball coach at University of Wisconsin- Platteville

John Knauss

Coached 30+ teams locally in travel Baseball, Basketball & Football over the past 15+ years, including the 4 years as a Head Coach in the Ducks Organization.
Former varsity baseball player at Prospect High School and Harper College in Palatine. Multiple family members that played baseball at the college or pro level
Active volunteer in the local community and is a current member and past Scholarship Chair for Oswego East All Sports Boosters
Sons Cameron and Spencer, who were both active in WAA Sports and played Varsity Baseball at Oswego East HS

David Cronin

Played Collegiately at University of Illinois Chicago
2017 All Horizon League 2^nd Team
MVP of 2017 Horizon League Tournament
Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Round 20/Pick 597)
2018 Frontier League All Star Infielder (Evansville Otters)

Frank Meisl

Played Collegiately at Benedictine University
Former Assistant Coach at Evergreen Park High School
Learning Behavior Specialist (District 68)
Current High School Ducks Head Coach

Alex Kelsch

10-year travel ball player including five with the Ducks
Played for 16U National Team USA-LABC in Santigo Domingo, DC
4-year starter at Oswego East High School
Played collegiately at Loras College; Freshman starter
Coached a 10U travel team

program include

Top level coaching

Team Chicago boasts one of the highest qualified staff in the state with multiple A & B License coaches as well as a number of C, D & Grassroots licensed coaches. The staff has years of player development between them at all levels ranging from U7's to Professional International Players.
INDOOR PROGRAMMING

At Team Chicago we are lucky to call the WAA Indoor Complex our home, providing players with both turf and futsal options to continue development throughout the winter months.
TOURNAMENTS

To aid the the development of our players, tournaments are included in club fees to ensure players have multiple opportunities outside of regular league play to develop and be challenged.
LEAGUE PLAY

Offering local, regional and national level opportunities to our players is something we pride ourselves on, we utilize the YSSL & IWSL leagues for our younger teams & create opportunities in National League and National Premier League for our older more competitive teams.
ADDITIONAL TRAINING

All of our programs offer additional training opportunities for those looking for that extra piece of development, whether that be skills sessions, futsal, camps and clinics.
PRIVATE TRAINING FACILITY

Having a central hub at TC's Soccer Complex is crucial. The facilities help us foster a true player development centered club, that creates a player first environment where players feel at home.

SUPPLEMENTAL TRAINING

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official uniforms

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INSTRUCTORS

DUCKS BASEBALL PATHWAY

FEET FIRST

JUNIORS REC

PRO - ACADEMY

ACADEMY (U7 - U10)

FUTURES (U11 - U12)

PERFORMANCE (U13 - U19)

COLLEGIATE + U19+

RESOURCES

BASEBALL COACHES CORNER

Coaching Forms:

Baseball Leagues:

Tournament Web Sites:

Rich Janor

Director

Bill Smith

Director – Ducks Gold™

Brian Smith

Director – Ducks Academy™

Cal Djuraskovic

Scott Kelsch

John Knauss

David Cronin

Frank Meisl

Alex Kelsch

program include

Top level coaching

INDOOR PROGRAMMING

TOURNAMENTS

LEAGUE PLAY

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

PRIVATE TRAINING FACILITY

SUPPLEMENTAL TRAINING

official uniforms

WAA Baseball

Camps/Clinics

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