Baseball Instructors

On Deck offers the highest quality private baseball lessons for hitting, pitching, and fielding. Instructors set their own pricing and availability.*

Fred Hanker

AREAS OF EXPERTISE – HITTING LESSONS, CATCHING LESSONS, THROWING, INFIELD/OUTFIELD

Fred is a 25 year veteran of playing, scouting, coaching and managing baseball and fastpitch softball. After a successful baseball career at Lakewood High School, he played four years at Cal State Dominguez Hills. He currently holds 12 school hitting records, was voted All CCAA four times, and All West Regional two times. In the 1987 MLB draft, Hanker was drafted by the Oakland A’s organization in the 31st round. He has also accumulated over 20 years of fast pitch playing against top notch competition.

Javier Alvarez

AREAS OF EXPERTISE - PITCHING, HITTING, AND FIELDING

My name is Javier Alvarez and I have 20 years of baseball experience under my belt, beginning from East Long Beach Pony baseball, all the way until college at Youngstown State. And I have now dedicated my life to feeding the knowledge I learned through my career to the next generations to come.

I attended Lakewood High School the year they were ranked #1 in the country in 2009 and graduated in 2013

I played on the varsity for 3 years at Lakewood High School where I threw the 1st and only perfect game thus far in school history after posting a 0.54 ERA and later on went to be inducted into the Lakewood Hall of Fame.

Before deciding to commit to pitching full time in my playing career, I was nationally ranked among the top 300 Outfielders in the country and the top 40 in the state of California among millions of ball players.

After high school I went on to play at Los Angeles Harbor Community College while averaging an ERA of 3.18 while posting a 10-6 record with 1 save in 25 appearances in the two years that I attended.

During my second year at Harbor, I received a scholarship to play at Youngstown State University. Where I had the pleasure of pitching against Regional contenders of the men’s college World Series like Georgia tech, Ohio state, and Wright state where I pitched 7 innings against the three combined while allowing 0 runs and having 5 strikeouts and no walks.

Sign up to train if you’re looking for guided programming, to increase velocity, improve hitting power, fielding, strength, and most importantly emotional control and mental approach to the game.

Sebastian Irwin

AREA OF EXPERTISE – PITCHING LESSONS

Sebastian is a former collegiate baseball player looking to take what he’s learned from all his years of playing this game and give valuable knowledge back to up-and-coming ballplayers.

He has many years of training that allow him to specialize in the breakdown of mechanics in order to increase both efficiency and velocity. He also has years of experience in arm care, mobility training, and advanced stretching protocols.

Sebastian started his collegiate career at Long Beach City College and was there for 2.5 years, which led him to his next home, the NAIA Division powerhouse, Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He was a Conference starter for both schools, leading them through many hard fought wins. So he knows what it takes to get the job done.

Sebastian majored in Exercise Science and he’s on his way to becoming a Physical Therapist. Knowing how the body works in motion is very important when it comes to effective pitching, so he uses this knowledge and experience to help fellow athletes.

Hear from Sebastian:

I fell in love with the sport and the craft of pitching, and I am looking forward to helping the next generation hone and develop skills to take them to the next level.

Jeremiah Luster

AREA OF EXPERTISE – HITTING LESSONS

A few things my clients can expect:

• Establishing a balanced set up and foundation to track the baseball properly and take controlled violent swings

• Learning an approach to put together consistent competitive at bats

• Exercises to improve hand and forearm strength

• Drills and exercises to incorporate at home to continue offensive improvement

About me:

• Entering 5th year as current Area Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks

• 6 years of professional baseball playing experience with the SF Giants and LA Angels organizations

• Over 75 former clients at the collegiate level

• Over 20 MLB draft picks

The purpose of hitting is to hit the ball hard. Let's have fun and get better! I will also be transparent with the draft process and teach the necessary steps to get amateur players to the next level of competition.

Mark Brooks

AREAS OF EXPERTISE – HITTING LESSONS, FIELDING & THROWING LESSONS

Mark is the founder of Art of Baseball Productions. He attended Bethune-Cookman University where he played for two years as the starting second baseman.

Currently, Mark Brooks gives roughly 1,000 personal hitting lessons a year and is a sponsor of Long Beach Little League.

Marco Soto

AREAS OF EXPERTISE – HITTING LESSONS, CATCHING LESSONS & PITCHING LESSONS

Hello my name is Marco Soto and I’m the owner of Soto Custom Gloves. I played college ball at Long Beach City, before competing in the professional Mexican Leagues for 10 years. That decade was a great time in my life and I learned a ton about the game from all of the elite coaches that I had the pleasure of playing under. Now, I enjoy every opportunity to transfer this knowledge to the next generation of ballplayers and help them reach their goals.

Kamau Neighbors

AREAS OF EXPERTISE – HITTING LESSONS & FIELDING LESSONS

My name is Kamau Neighbors, I am 22 years old and am a Student-Athlete at California State Northridge and a Long Beach City Alumni. I am a 4.0 student and was in the top 10% of my school academically.

Athletically I am a switch-hitting middle infielder. I have thousands of volunteer hours helping and training kids of all ages at the MLB Youth Academy for both baseball and softball. Though I myself am still learning things about the game daily, I have been able to witness the works of baseball legends and the works of former Major/Minor League players.

I am not here to change anyone's swing into my own, but yet find what feels natural to each individual, and make that natural swing dangerous and consistent. As far as fielding goes, footwork and smooth hands are key, I will help improve quickness and fluidity among each individual that I have the honor of giving lessons to.

If you are interested and or have any questions feel free to contact me and I will get back to you ASAP! I am so excited to help develop upcoming athletes. See other flyer for availability and pricing.

Jordan Hinshaw

AREA OF EXPERTISE – HITTING LESSONS

A Long Beach Poly Baseball Alumni, Jordan encapsulates “Scholars & Champions”, the Jackrabbit’s school motto for perseverance. A full-scholarship recipient & mechanical engineering major at Cal Poly Pomona, Jordan’s route led him through 5 years of professional baseball across the US, and abroad into Mexico & Canada, working his way up to the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball(AAA) where he hit a team leading .330 at the top of the lineup of a host of AAA and MLB – experienced players on his way to a Division Title and Championship run with the Long Island Ducks(ALPB – 2017).

Having returned to complete his engineering degree in 2018(CSUEB), Hinshaw’s free agent contract was picked up by the Canadian-American Professional Baseball League, as an outfielder for the Rockland Boulders(NY) making 2019 his 6th professional season as a lifetime .291 hitter.

The Son of Padre(MLB) third basemen George Hinshaw, Jordan emphasizes the fundamentals and major league approach that has been passed down, that give every player the foundation to be a consistently productive player.

Interim Head Coach & Hitting Coach for LB Poly High school in 2023 — we led the league for hits and runs scored against in a year. We were the Undefeated Moore League Champions(12-0) and State Championship Playoff representatives for the first time in Poly History (23-4 Overall). Go Jackrabbits!

LINK TO HIS BASEBALL REFERENCE FOR PROFESSIONAL STATS

JORDAN HINSHAW LESSONS

Half- and full- hour lessons are available for Hitting and Defense (throwing, fielding, catching), with an included 15 minute dynamic conditioning to maximize your player’s muscle memory.

“An amateur quits when they are tired; a Professional quits when the Job is Done.”
–Tony Philipps, World Champion Oakland Athletic and Friend

“If you want to have some fun in this game, get some hits”
–Steve Springer, NY Mets