MEET OUR COACHES

"A good coach will make his players see what they can become rather than what they are."

Coach
BEN CORTEZ

Ben Cortez started his career in the Sports and Fitness Industry as a Personal Trainer in 1994 as athletics had been a passion from an early age. Ben started working with professional athletes in Texas and when he moved to Maui in 1999, he became a coveted Sports Fitness Specialist. In 2003 he opened the 1^st top notch training facility on the North Shore to be easily accessible to visiting international and local athletes. Ben believes that proper strength training helps to reduce injury and creates the confidence for better competitive performance.

In 2009 Ben moved to Southern California to have his growing family be closer to parents/grandparents and he was managing professional athletes and landing sponsorships. Ben enjoyed adding value and learning this part of the business but missed training.

In 2012 Ben’s two sons wanted to start Little League Baseball and Ben found his new passion. He used all his experience to help his boys and volunteered to coach their teams. His eldest son became a pitcher, so Ben became aware of all the arm injuries that have become so prevalent in the sport. He spent countless hours researching arm care techniques and ways to train to help fend off injury. His son continued to play through high school and Ben continued to educate himself on different programs and ways to improve velocity without overthrowing or damaging the arm. In late 2019, Ben found the Top Velocity program and started connecting with Brent Pourciau and asking questions. He finally felt like someone in the baseball community was providing a sound and scientific program with results to back it up. The basic premise is you must train the entire athlete and base everything on individual biomechanics in order to obtain the best results with the least amount of injury. This alignment is the reason Ben decided to go all in and build a training facility in San Diego to teach these principles and help all throwing athletes.

Coach Jesse English

Jesse English has dedicated the past two decades to working with baseball players, refining their form, accuracy, and mental focus through example-based instruction. As a professional pitcher and coach, Jesse possesses the skills necessary to mold, refine, and develop athletes to bring out their best on the field.

In his current role as the Pitching Coach at Cal State San Marcos , Jesse manages the pitching staff, handles recruitment, and makes pitch calls during games. Previously, as the Head Baseball coach at Rancho Buena Vista High School from 2017 to 2023, Jesse achieved remarkable success, leading the team to back-to-back Avocado league titles. Furthermore, as the owner of a travel baseball organization since 2017, Jesse demonstrates excellent organizational and time management skills, overseeing team scheduling, logistics, and facilitating coaching meetings to align with players’ performance and planning. Jesse’s coaching experience also includes stints in the Western Canadian Baseball League and a distinguished professional career as a pitcher for various teams, including the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals, where he made significant contributions both on and off the field.

Coach Sean Lucas

Sean is a native of New York that moved out to California after playing professional baseball all across the country. Coming from 3 generations of baseball players before him, he was taught and learned the game from a young age. The skills and knowledge that he continued to develop and learn over the years allowed him to be one of the best of players in the state. During his High School tenure, he was named in 2007; Pitcher of the Year, Louisville Slugger All-American, Empire State Games Silver Medalist, Connecticut Sate Games Gold Medalist, Participant of the Goodwill Games Vs Japan, Perfect Game Northeast All Region Team: National Overall Rank (#146), LHP (#20): NY State Rank (#3), LHP (#1).

Sean ended up receiving a scholarship from the University of Virginia where he played baseball from 2007-2011 where he studied Sociology. Due to an injury, he was granted one more year of NCAA eligibility and used that opportunity to obtain his Master’s Degree and play baseball again at The State University of New York at Albany for the 2012 season. This season was turning point as he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 25^th round of the 2012 Amateur Draft. He went on to play professional baseball from 2012-2015 with the Reds and briefly with the Rockland Boulders 2015.

After his playing career, Sean started to coach and train young players in Southern California and is still currently doing so. With over 5 years of professional time and 7 years and counting of youth training, he started to see the game change. The game to him is becoming more competitive than ever and saw that players were developing bigger and faster as well. With the game changing, the way you train and develop as a player has to evolve with it. That’s what brought Sean to the Top Velocity Program. “The best players adapt and change to become better, their routine changes over time as they mature and educate themselves. The key is to train smarter not harder. The goal is to be great longer than everyone else”.

Sean is looking to give back and help educate the next generation of players like his coaches did for him at a young age.

PITCHING COACH
ERIC JUNGE

Pitch Development with Eric Junge

We are proud to announce our partnership with Eric Junge, current Padres Pitching Staff Member and 2022 MILB Manger of the Year of the Padres Single – A Affiliate Lake Elsinore Storm. Eric brought the Storm their first Championship season since 2011. He’s been with the Padres organization for 11 years. Eric will head up our Pitch Development program.

NUTRITIONIST EMMA ARAYA

Emma is a San Diego native pursuing a degree in Dietetics and Nutrition, Fitness & Health with a minor in Spanish from Purdue University. With a passion for dietetics and sports performance, she was not afraid to jump right in at Purdue. She is currently a rising veteran in her sports nutrition class and works at fueling stations around campus with athletes across different sports and areas. Most recently, she worked with the Purdue Wrestling Team and assisted them with specialized nutrition. Coming from a baseball loving family, Emma sees and hopes to work with a Major League Baseball team in the future. She is so excited to be joining our team!