Instructors

CURT NELSON

Co-Founder DIRECTOR OF HITTING

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A Bit About Curt

Curt is a Co-Founder and Director of Hitting Instructions of our academy. With an unbridled passion for baseball hitting, Curt has developed into one of the most recognizable names in the Pacific Northwest for private and team hitting instructions.

Curt discovered his love of baseball as a fearsome hitter in Mill Creek Little League, where he won several Washington State Little League Championships throughout his youth baseball career. He was also a key member of the Seattle Stars Baseball team that captured CABA World Series Championship and USFBA World Series Championship at the 14U level and later a 16U CABA World Series Championship with his 15U Seattle Stars Team. At Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Washington, Curt’s baseball career reached unprecedented heights by completing a perfect senior year season (27-0) and winning a Washington State 4A Baseball Championship. Curt was a two-year starter at Everett Community College before handing up his baseball cleats.

Curt works with local young baseball athletes, as well as collegiate and profession players. In addition to providing high-level hitting lessons to selected athletes, He will oversee all aspects of our academy’s baseball hitting instructions. From designing hitting instructions and programs for individual and teams, to design to training our staff to become prolific hitting instructors, Curt is the centerpiece our academy’s baseball hitting program.

Curt grew up in Everett, Washington and currently resides in Monroe with his wife and two children.

CAM NOBLES

DIRECTOR OF PITCHING

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A Bit About Cam

Cam is our academy’s Pitching Coordinator and a pitching instructor. Through baseball, Cam is passionate about and strives to teach life lessons and develop strong relationships by guiding young athletes to meet their true potential and goals.

Cam was raised in Mill Creek and attended Jackson High school. He played for the Seattle Stars organization and won multiple National Championships over a five-year period. As a senior at Jackson High School in 2006, he led the pitching staff and helped his team to complete a perfect 27-0 season, win a Washington State 4A state title and garner recognition as the top high school team in 2006.

Cam was drafted in the 19th round by the Seattle Mariners in the 2006 MPB draft. Instead of starting his professional baseball career, Cam took advantage of a baseball scholarship offer from University of Washington to endeavor into collegiate baseball and pursue his education. After appearing in two seasons for the Huskies, a severe arm injury shortened Cam’s baseball career. After graduating with a Sociology degree from University of Washington, Cam discovered his true passion in coaching and mentoring young athletes playing the game of baseball. Since then, Cam has worked with a wide range of players to achieve a consistent pitching routine, as well improve and maximizing their skill set.

Cam currently lives in Lynnwood with his wife Amber and their daughter Kinzley.

DUSTIN BIELL

HITTING COODINATOR AND INSTRUCTOR

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A Bit About Dustin

Dustin is our academy’s hitting coordinator and instructor. A 2007 graduate of Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Washington, he earned three varsity letters in high school and was named to first team all Kingco and area as a prolific hitter (second highest batting average in Kingco in his junior year) and outfielder in his junior and senior years. Originally accepted a baseball scholarship to attend Washington State University, Dustin decided to forego his college baseball career when he was drafted as the first pick in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Dustin ended up playing for the Rays through 2011 before traveling to Australia to play and coach professional baseball.

After his professional baseball playing career was over, Dustin discovered his true passion in coaching baseball and began his coaching career at his alma mater – Inglemoor High School – from 2012-2014 and evolved into coaching local club teams; as well as providing hitting instructions to young aspiring players. Dustin focuses his instructions not only on hitting mechanics, but also on mental focus and quality plate approach. By parlaying his past training and playing experience, Dustin has a proven track record of helping young players maximizing their potential.

Dustin current lives in Lake Stevens with his girlfriend and their daughter.

COLBY NEALY

PITCHING INSTRUCTOR

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A Bit About Colby

Colby is a pitching instructor at our academy and he attended Bothell High School, where he played two years of varsity baseball as a first baseman, designated hitter and starting pitcher. Prior to graduating in 2014, Colby signed an offer to play baseball at Washington State University and in the spring of 2015 made an immediate impact as a relief pitcher his freshman year.

During his junior year in 2017, Colby began to catch the attention of professional scouts and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 MLB draft. He made the decision to leave WSU a year early to play professional baseball. Later that summer, after posting a stellar 0.46 ERA in the Arizona Rookie League, he was promoted to the Rookie Level Odgen Raptors and a few weeks later, that same season, promoted to the Dodgers Single A Great Lakes Loons. Colby played 5 years of professional baseball, two years as a reliever and three years as a starter with a highlight year of 115 strikeouts against 20 walks in 95 innings – posting a 12-1 record with a 2.23 ERA. Colby retired from professional baseball in 2022 and is excited to share his wealth of knowledge and experience at our academy as a pitching instructor.​

During his playing career, Colby gained a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge pitching in the Pac-12 Conference and at a professional level. Moreover, his offseason training regiment also afforded him the opportunity to work with and learn from MLB pitchers such as Matt Boyd, James Paxton, Dan Otero, Carson Fulmer, Dillon Tate, and more.

Specifically, Colby is knowledgeable in biomechanics, Plyoball usage and pitch design from his off-season work as a professional pitcher. Moreover, he learned great techniques in arm care, velocity training and mechanical efficiency. Now, he brings his wealth of knowledge and experience as a pitching instructor to our academy.

If you are looking to elevate your development as a pitcher, you will find Colby to be an excellent instructor on a personalized level.

RAY ATKINSON

DIRECTOR of COACHES

A Bit About Ray

Ray Atkinson is our academy’s Director of Coaching Instruction and former owner of Northwest Bandits Baseball Club and Atkinson Baseball Academy. No baseball coach in the Pacific Northwest has the reputation, experience and coaching tree that Ray brings to our academy.

Ray is universally recognized as one of the top youth baseball coaches in the area and several of Ray’s former players are now playing or coaching at the college or professional level. He has built a reputation for teaching young players to play the game the right way and prepare them to practice and perform at the highest level.

Ray is tasked to design and elevate practice plans and develop our coaches and instructors, as well as teach in-game coaching strategies and winning mindset. Ray will also work with players on developing in-game processes to remain focused on the goal of steady incremental improvements. Ray will be coaching a high-level Elevate Northwest team as well as Lincoln High School during high school baseball season; he will also serve as a hitting and defensive instructor at our academy and provide lessons and manage baseball camps.

ANDY ATWOOD

HITTING INSTRUCTOR AND INFIELD INSTRUCTOR

A Bit About Andy

Andy is a hitting and infield instructor at our academy and a player with the Chicago White Sox organization’s minor league team. As an active professional player, Andy brings a unique perspective to coaching and elite level of hitting and infield instructions. Citing his privilege to have played for some of the best coaches in the country, including those on our academy’s staff, Andy extracts from his own training and playing experience to teach and make a lasting impact on each player’s development.

Andy was a four-year varsity letterman at Seattle’s O’Dea High School in golf and baseball. He was a key player on the 2014 Washington State 3A baseball championship team and received All-State First Team Shortstop honors in 2014 and 2015. After high school, Andy attended Oregon State University to play baseball and played for the Corvallis Knights in the West Coast League in the summers, where he earned WCL first team honors as an All-Star third baseman and named to the Corvallis Knights All-Decade Team.

Andy transferred to UTRGV (University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley) to finish out his college baseball career and while attending UTRGV, he was invited to play summer league baseball in the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Bourne Braves. After going undrafted after graduation from college, Andy played independent professional baseball in the Pioneer League and subsequently signed a professional contract to play for the Chicago White Sox organization.

CONOR BARDUE

Hitting | Infield Instructor

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A Bit About Conor

Conor is a hitting and infield instructor at our academy and he is excited to help you elevate your game! A former three-sport athlete at Lake Stevens High School, Conor was a three-star quarterback for the vaunted LSHS varsity football program. During his prolific high school athletic career, Conor earned All-State honors, two-time All-Wesco and All-Area honors, WIAA Player of the Week and Everett Herald Offensive Player of the Year honors.

In baseball, Conor was a two-time All-Wesco third baseman, All-Area third baseman his senior year in highs school, played in the All-Wesco All-Star Game and was an All-State Game candidate. Conor pursued his passion for baseball after high school and played at the College of Marin, a two-year school in the Bay Area where he earned all-league honors his freshman year. He then moved on to play at Division II Salem University in West Virginia, where he graduated with a degree in Business Management.

Conor is excited for the opportunity to give back to the game that has given him so much and pass on his knowledge and experience to young baseball players throughout the Pacific Northwest at our academy. Conor is currently pursuing a master’s degree and leading a team of young and aspiring baseball players on Mercer Island, Washington.

BRADEN EDWARDS

HITTING INSTRUCTOR

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A Bit About Braden

Braden is a hitting instructor with our academy and the Associate Head Coach and Head Hitting Coach at Everett Community College. He was a three-year varsity letterman at Everett High School from 2003 to 2005 – where he compiled a career high school batting average of .406 as a hitter and a 3.02 ERA as a pitcher. He was simultaneously named as a 1st Team All-Wesco outfielder and 2nd Team All-Wesco pitcher, in addition to being named to the 2005 All Wesco All-Star/All-Area Teams.

Braden played for a 2002 River Dawgs team that placed fourth in the CABA World Series. He also played for the Northern Reign with a career batting average of .430 and garnered several elite honors that included Evergreen Baseball Alliance MVP, EBA Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Batting Champion and Gold Glove Winner. Braden attended Shoreline Community College, where he earned a 2nd Team NWAACC outfielder award as a freshman. He played professional baseball for the Independent Pro-Baseball Medicine Hat Mavericks, where he hit .285 and made the WMBL West All-Star Team.

Braden is passionate coach with a strong desire to help athletes realize and maximize their full potential.

ANDREW HAIGHT

Catching | Hitting Instructor

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A Bit About Andrew

Andrew is a catching and hitting instructor with our academy and a 2020 graduate of Monroe High School – where he was a three-year varsity letter winner in baseball. He was a two-time All-Wesco First Team selection at the catcher position and he helped Monroe High School achieve a birth to the state playoff. Andrew was rated one of the top catchers from the 2020 class in Washington by Perfect Game, Prep Baseball Report and SBLive Washington and was named to the Perfect Game All Region team.

Andrew earned a scholarship to play baseball at Seattle University and was a catcher for two seasons with the Red Hawks. His baseball career was cut short due to a nerve damage in his right hand, but he will be continuing to pursue his teaching degree as a special education teacher to fulfill his passion of helping people in need and make a difference in kids’ lives. Andew is very excited to use baseball coaching as an opportunity to help young players not only become better players, but better people when they grow up.

SAM LEACH

Hitting | Pitching | Defense Instructor

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A Bit About Sam

Coach Sam Leach is a hitting, pitching and defense instructor with our academy. He grew up in Seattle and attended Nathan Hale High School, where he was a three-time letterman in basketball and four-time letterman in baseball; with three All-Metro Conference and one All State recognitions. Coach Sam realized his dream of being a two-way Division 1 baseball player after high school. He attended The University of Northern Colorado, where he totaled 94.6 innings on the mound in 38 appearances and 116 hits in 2.5 seasons, slashing .306/.367/.425.

Coach Sam also has extensive team coaching experience, including the following:

• 2017-2021: Assistant Coach, Rijo Athletics @ PSP
• 2022-2023: Assistant Coach, Denver East High School
• 2023-2024: Assistant Coach, Nathan Hale High School
• 2023: EPA Instructor and Head Coach – Bandits Premier 18u

Eli Konsker

Hitting Instructor

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A Bit About Eli

TBD

DIEGO ALTAMIRANO

Catching | Hitting Instructor

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A Bit About Diego

Coach Diego is a catching and hitting instructor with our academy. He fell in love with the game of baseball from Mill Creek Little League, then went on to play club baseball with the Northwest Bandits under the tutelage of Coach Ray Atkinson and Coach Curt Nelson. He graduated from Jackson high school in 2018and went on to become a Division 1 catcher at the University of south Alabama. In addition to teaching hitting, catching and team defense, Coach Diego is also an assistant baseball coach at Everett Community College.

BRANDON VAN HORN

Hitting | Infield Instructor

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A Bit About Brandon

Coach Van Horn in one of the top infield, hitting and team defense instructors in our Academy. He was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft and spent four years in the Giants organization, reaching Triple-A level of play in Minor League Baseball during the 2019 season. The slick-handed infielder slugged three home runs and drove in 34 runs across three levels (A+, AA and AAA) in 2019. Among his many playing highlights, Coach Van Horn played in eight games while with the Sacramento River Cats (AAA), hitting .400 with a homer and two runs batted in.

Coach Van Horn served as an assistant coach with the New Mexico State University baseball program from 2020-2023, where worked closely with hitters and infielders and helped the Aggies claim a WAC Championship and made a run to the NCAA Corvallis Regional in 2019.

A native of Tujanga, California, Van Horn began his collegiate career at Riverside City College in 2012 before transferring to Dallas Baptist in 2014. He then transferred to The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California, where he hit .280 with 36 runs, 31 runs batted in, 21 extra-base hits, 11 home runs, a .567 slugging percentage, 17 walks and a .352 on-base percentage as a senior during the 2016 campaign, leading his team to a conference and regional championship making an appearance in the 2016 NAIA College World Series.

Tony Thammavongsa

STRENGTH TRAINING

A Bit About Tony

TBD

Humberto Gonzalez

Hitting | Defense

A Bit About Humberto

Humberto is a defense and hitting instructor at Elevate’s Sumner location. He was born in California, raised in Seattle, and graduated from Rainier Beach High School. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Humberto out of high school, but he decided to pursue his education and play collegiately at Feather River Community College (CA). While at FRCC, he earned First Team All-League honors before he was drafted again by the New York Mets organization. After finishing his professional baseball career, he went on to start a family and have 3 children. He has spent the last decade managing and teaching youth baseball around the Puget Sound, including serving as an assistant coach on numerous high-level baseball clubs. Humberto has earned a stellar reputation through his defensive and hitting instruction as well as through his time on the field managing and mentoring young athletes.

Nick Hagadone

Pitching Instructor

A Bit About Nick

Nick is a pitching instructor at Elevate’s Sumner location. He is a Sumner High School graduate who was a multi-sport athlete and graduated with a 3.8 GPA. While he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of high school Nick opted to play collegiate baseball at the University of Washington and was named 1st Team All-Pac 10 Pitcher in 2007.

Following his time at UW, he was drafted 55th overall in 2007 by the Boston Red Sox and appeared on the Baseball America Top 100 prospects list (#44 in 2010). Nick progressed through the ranks of minor league baseball from 2007-2011 and made his MLB debut on September 1st, 2011, with the Cleveland Indians. During his 5 years with Cleveland he made 143 appearances.

Since finishing his playing career, Nick has been passing on his knowledge and passion for the game as an instructor, coach, and mentor to youth baseball players of all ages and abilities.

Richie Rodriguez

Catching | Hitting Instructor

A Bit About Richie

Richie is a catching and hitting instructor at Elevate’s Sumner location. He is a graduate of Auburn Mountainview High School and currently a two-way player (pitcher/catcher) at Southwestern Oregon College. Over the course of his high school and college career he has earned honors including being a 2x varsity team captain and All-State Tournament MVP. Additionally, he earned First Team honors at the league, area, region, and state levels.

Geoff Brown

Pitching Instructor

A Bit About Geoff

Geoff was born and raised in the greater Seattle area. A left-handed pitcher, he played baseball at Jackson High School in Mill Creek, WA. His junior year, he led Jackson in clinching the 2006 State Title. In 2007, Geoff was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 23rd round of the MLB draft. Instead, he opted to play Division 1 baseball for the University of Washington where he still holds their career record of 94 mound appearances.

After college, Geoff moved to Australia where he played pro ball for the Perth Heat, helping them win the 2012 Australian Baseball League Championship. Later that year, Geoff moved back to the U.S. to play for the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers before getting picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers and placed with their affiliate, the Great Lakes Loons. In 2013 Geoff was named a Minor League All Star. The following season, he moved onto the Dodgers’ Rancho Cucamonga Quakes before ending his professional career in 2015.

Brice MuCulloch

Catching | Hitting Instructor

A Bit About Brice

Coming soon!

Bryan Marquez

Infield | Hitting Instructor

A Bit About Bryan

Coming soon!

Aubrey Sweeney

Catching | Defense Instructor

A Bit About Aubrey

Aubrey is a catching and defense instructor at EPA’s Lynnwood’s facility. She spent her youth playing for various organizations in Southern California and in high school was a 4-year varsity catcher.

Caitlin went to Gonzaga University to pursue nursing and played there until she got injured. Since then, she has helped coach youth baseball and softball teams.

Perry Rea

Pitching Instructor

A Bit About Perry

Coach Perry Rea brings thirty years of fastpitch coaching experience to the Elevate organization and has helped develop numerous pitchers who played at the DI Women’s Softball level.  He grew up on the fastpitch field watching his father pitch for the Air Force and coached in the Kansas City area in the 70s & 80s.  When he moved to Washington in 1991, high schools were just transitioning the girls from slow pitch to fastpitch softball. Perry helped found the Covington Express organization where he coached throughout the 90’s before moving to Central California.

Perry is an Aerospace Engineer working in Boeing Product Development for the last 32 years.  He has been married to his wife Brenda for 33 years and has two grown sons. Now that his boys are grown, Perry is happy to re-engage in his favorite sport of fastpitch and bring his experience to EPA.

Caitlin Nies

Pitching | Catching Instructor

A Bit About Caitlin

Caitlin Nies is a pitching and catching instructor in EPA’s Lynnwood facility. Nies, formerly Caitlin Noble, is a graduate of Eastlake HS where she earned many honors, including 2x All-Eastside Player of the Year and KingCo MVP, 2004 King County Journal Athlete of the Year, and 2x team captain.

After high school she went on to play collegiately at the University of Washington. There she racked up the 4^th most strikeouts in UW history, tossed 2 no-hitters, and earned various accolades. Caitlin was an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII first team honoree, selected for the Pac-10 All-Academic first team, and was a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American.

She then went on to coach at Northwestern State where in 2011 the pitching staff led the Southland Conference in team ERA. Her next stop coaching was at Glacier Peak HS where she was voted the 2014 Wesco 3A/4A coach of the year. Her last college coaching job was at Seattle University where from 2018-2023 oversaw multiple pitching staffs that were the best in the WAC and many hurlers who earned league, regional, and WAC tournament honors for their successes in the circle.