Coaches Corner

Dan is the founder of Baseball School CNY and co-owner of SkanStrength, the Skaneateles-based training facility that is home to Baseball School CNY. He also serves as Associate Head Baseball Coach at Cayuga Community College.

Dan has spent more than 25 years in athletics as an athlete, strength & conditioning coach, and sport coach. His baseball career began in the Hudson Valley and eventually led to a Division II scholarship at Molloy College. After his freshman year, Dan stepped away from baseball following the loss of a family member and a period of burnout. He eventually found his way back to the game through coaching and athletic development—an experience that has helped shape how he thinks about youth sports today.

Dan transferred to Ithaca College, earning his B.S. in Exercise Science in 2014. He then worked as a Strength & Conditioning intern at Cornell University before joining Baylor University as a Graduate Assistant, where he trained under Coach Kaz Kazadi and worked with athletes across several Division I sports. He earned his Master's in Sport Pedagogy (Physical Education) from Baylor University in 2015.

After returning to Central New York, Dan and his family opened SkanStrength in 2017 in a 500-square-foot space below a local bar. Over the years that followed, they grew SkanStrength into an 8,800-square-foot regional training facility serving athletes, families, and community members throughout Central New York.

Much of Dan's career has been spent working with children and young athletes. He has coached and trained athletes across a wide range of ages, abilities, and sports, from kids being introduced to organized athletics through collegiate players. That experience has developed into a particular interest in creating healthy childhood athletic experiences—physically, psychologically, and developmentally.

A former catcher, Dan has coached catching, hitting, throwing, fielding, strength & conditioning, and overall player development from Little League through the collegiate level. At Cayuga Community College, his work includes day-to-day player development, catching instruction, and strength & conditioning for the NJCAA program.

Dan founded Baseball School CNY around a simple idea: young players deserve a place centered on teaching and development. His approach combines baseball instruction, athletic development, game understanding, and sound teaching practices while recognizing that how kids experience sports matters just as much as what they learn from them.

The goal is not simply to make players better today, but to help them become more capable, confident, and physically prepared while developing a healthy relationship with athletics that can continue as they grow.

B.S. Exercise Science — Ithaca College

M.S. Sport Pedagogy (Physical Education) — Baylor University