Coaches, Lessons and Clinics

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Our Coaches

Phil Avlas

Hitting and Catching

Phil Avlas spent seven years in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He was also a Cal League All Star catcher for the Lancaster Jethawks, leading the league with 106 games and 13 home runs.

MEET PHIL

Phil Avlas

Phil Avlas is a native of Southern California growing up in the San Fernando Valley. Phil played at Kennedy High School during his high school years. In 2000, Phil was part of the Kennedy HS baseball team that won the LA City Championship at Dodger Stadium. That same year, Phil earned co-player of the year in the City Section while posting a .471 avg. with 36 RBI’s.

In 2001, Phil was drafted in the 24th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks as a catcher. Phil spent seven years in the Diamondbacks organization. In 2004, Phil was a Cal League All Star catcher for the Lancaster Jethawks, lead the league with 106 games behind the plate and posted a .315 avg. with 13 home runs and 68 RBI’s.

In 2005, Phil was a part of the Championship Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. While finishing his last year with the Diamondbacks in AAA Tucson, Phil posted a .294 avg.

Phil spent two years playing Independent Ball with the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League and for the Na Koa Ikaika Maui in the Golden League.

After his stint playing professional ball, Phil coached at Viewpoint High School in Calabasas from 2010-2012. Phil also develops players for multiple academies and have been involved with travel baseball for many years. Phil has the desire and the passion for teaching and developing young talent. Phil currently resides in Santa Clarita Valley with his family.

John Curtis

Hitting, Pitching and Catching

While playing with the World Series Champions at Cal State Fullerton, John Curtis was drafted by the Cleveland Indians, Anaheim Angels and Chicago White Sox, where he spent four years in the organization.

MEET JOHN

John Curtis

Born and raised in Southern California, John Curtis went to Hart High School and played baseball. He earned All-League Honors as a catcher and 1st baseman in 2001 & 2002.

In 2002 John was recruited as a catcher for Cal State Fullerton which is known as one of the top collegiate baseball programs in the country. He played 4 seasons for the Titans achieving 1st and 2nd team Big West Honors 2005-2007. While with CSUF, John played in 3 College World Series in Omaha Nebraska (2004,2006, &2007) and was a member of the 2004 College World Series National Championship team. John graduated with his Bachelors of Arts degree in Criminal Justice in 2007.

During his time at CSUF John was drafted 3 times: 2005 Cleveland Indians (29th round), 2006 Anaheim Angels (24th round), and 2007 Chicago White Sox (14th round). He spent 4 years in the White Sox organization. John was a South Atlantic League All-Star Catcher in 2009. In 2011, John played with the Houston Astros Organization playing for their High A, AA and AAA teams.

John’s finished baseball in 2012 due to a shoulder injury. Since his career ended in 2012, he has been actively developing players from local high schools and baseball academies. Currently, John currently resides in Castaic with his family.

Camden Duzenack

Baseball – All Areas

MEET CAMDEN

Camden Duzenack

Camden Duzenack is a native of Texas where he attended Melissa High School. Camden was a four-year letterman on varsity where we lead the team in virtually every hitting category and leading his team to 4 straight playoff appearances. Over his four years, he batted .438 with 196 hits, 149 RBI’s, 58 doubles, and 26 home runs in 139 career games. Following his senior year, he was selected to play in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Game where we won the game’s MVP Award.

After high school, Camden went on to play all four years at Dallas Baptist University. While at DBU, Duzenack became one of the more decorated infielders in program history. He was selected to the All- Missouri Valley Conference Team three times, won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2014, and The Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. While at DBU, he also was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on three separate occasions and was voted a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American following the 2014 season.

After his senior year in 2017, Camden Duzenack was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 9th round. He has since then played five years in the Diamondbacks organization. He was named a Mid-Season and Postseason All-Star in 2017 in the Northwest League (Short-season Rookie Ball) and named a Mid-Season All-Star in 2019 in the California League (High- A) where he also finished runner-up in the Home Run Derby. In this past season, Duzenack played in AA and AAA where he batted .287 with 8 doubles, 8 home runs, and 25 RBI’s while playing shortstop, second base, third base, and outfield.

Steven Farnworth

Baseball – All Areas

Coach Steve has 20+ years of baseball experience and knowledge. Having played 4 years of high school baseball, 3 years of college baseball, and nearly 6 years of professional baseball.

MEET STEVEN

Steven Farnworth

Coach Steve has 20+ years of baseball experience and knowledge. Having played 4 years of high school baseball, 3 years of college baseball, and nearly 6 years of professional baseball he has acquired priceless baseball knowledge through some of the games very best. Coach Steve has been coaching and doing private lessons for 5 years and thoroughly enjoys the process of improvement.

Coach Steve was drafted out of Cal Poly Pomona in 2014 by the Miami Marlins and in 2015 was named an All-Star in the NY Penn League, posting a sub .5 ERA with 14/15 saves.

In June of 2017 he was sidelined from the game with a ulnar collateral ligament tear which ultimately led to Tommy John surgery. Following his departure from professional baseball, Coach Steve went back to school where he received his BA from Cal Poly Pomona.

Michael Hur

Baseball – All Areas

Mike grew up in Santa Clarita Valley and attend Valencia High School from 2003 to 2006. He played varsity baseball for 3 years and earned All-Foothill League honors in 2005 and 2006.

MEET MIKE

Michael Hur

Mike grew up in Santa Clarita Valley and attend Valencia High School from 2003 to 2006. He played varsity baseball for 3 years and earned All-Foothill League honors in 2005 and 2006. The team won league title in 2004 and 2006 and set school record for overall wins and losses (25-4, 14-1).

After high school, Mike attended UC Riverside on a full scholarship in 2007–2010 as a two-way player (P/OF). At UC Riverside, he earned All-Big West Conference (2009, 2010) and ABCA West All-Region (2009), while posting career BA .342 HR 15 RBI 96.

After college, Mike was fortunate enough to be drafted by Arizona Diamondbacks in the 20th round. However, while at post-draft mini-camp, he suffered a torn labrum and 20% rotator cuff and received a shoulder surgery. After months of rehabilitation, he was invited back to spring training, but unfortunately suffered another setback and was released. After another rehabilitation, Mike continued playing in independent ball for 6 years, but unfortunately due to multiple injuries, he was forced to stop playing. During his time in independent baseball, he posted a career BA .301 HR 45 RBI 250 SB 36 and was a runner-up candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2012, All-Star game MVP and Postseason All-Star in 2015, and served as team captain from 2013-2015.

After baseball, Mike went back to UC Riverside and earned BA degree in Business/History, coached varsity baseball at Valencia High School from 2020-2021, and worked as a certified personal trainer. Currently he is pursuing a career in physical therapy, while attending CSUN for Master’s program in Kinesiology and working as a physical therapy aide. He is hoping to give back to young athletes all the knowledge and experience he has acquired in all aspects of baseball (hitting, pitching, infield, outfield).

Lauren Lombardi

Softball – All Areas

Lauren Lombardi is the daughter of former MLB pro Phil Lombardi. Throughout her life, he coached her to be just like him: a prominent force behind the plate and in the box.

MEET LAUREN

Lauren Lombardi

Lauren Lombardi is the daughter of former MLB pro Phil Lombardi. Throughout her life, he coached her to be just like him: a prominent force behind the plate and in the box. She earned a full ride scholarship to CSU Long Beach and has been instructing players for several years.

Lauren grew up playing with her sister Julia in the William S. Hart Baseball & Softball Pony League, whose All-Star team won the 2006 ASA Nationals B rank title. Lauren earned the nickname “Rhino” because her father believed a good catcher must always be tough like one. The name would stick for her entire career.

From there, she played for prominent travel ball organizations like Mizuno Pride and SoCal 3D. She attended West Ranch High School and played a major role in two league titles. In the fall of 2011, during her Junior year, several schools attempted to recruit Lauren as a power-hitting catcher. She decided on the D1 University, CSU Long Beach. Her sister would later commit to the same school.

Lauren, as a freshman, led her team to victory as the 2014 Big West Champions, thanks to her grand slam in the deciding game. Lauren’s career faced setbacks with recurring knee injuries, but that didn’t stop her from solidifying her spot in several top-10 school records, including: single-season RBI’s (#1), career home runs (#7), career grand slams (#1), and career batting average (#2), among others. She earned many honors during her time, but none so unique as the Bill Bovee Determination Award, which was granted to her during the university’s Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony in 2019.

After college, Lauren was quick to continue her work in softball. With a few years of private lessons under her belt, she used her Education degree to pursue coaching and coaching-adjacent work instead. She took on the role as program manager, then director, for the Natasha Watley Foundation. Lauren worked alongside the former Olympic medalist to provide low-cost and free playing/training options for the underserved youth of Los Angeles. During this time, she also accepted a position as program manager and lead instructor for Softball University (first in Redondo Beach, then Thousand Oaks). Lauren loved the work she did with the players in these communities.

In May of 2021, Lauren lost her father to brain cancer. She decided to move home to SCV to be with family. The opportunity to honor her father’s legacy arose. Now, Lauren plans to coach at West Ranch High School and train players locally at The Farm. She’s a big believer of elevating the individual strengths of each player and knows what it takes to “Play Like A Rhino.”

Cody Van-Es

Baseball – All Areas

Cody has been coaching athletes from the range of elementary school to minor leaguers. Recently he has trained D1, minor league and major league players at the OC Elite Baseball facility.

MEET CODY

Cody Van-Es

Cody Van-Es received a scholarship and graduated from Bristol University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After graduating from college, he pursued his dream and played independent professional baseball for one season until and injury prevented him from playing. Ever since then Cody has been coaching athletes from the range of elementary school all the way to minor leaguers. Recently he has trained D1, minor league and major league players at the OC Elite Baseball facility in So Cal. Along with private baseball training, he has coached at Village Christian High school, baseball academies and baseball camps for the Los Angeles Dodgers and for the University of California Irvine. Coach Cody has been training players and teams for more than 10 years now and instructs in all aspects of the game such as infield, hitting, pitching and the mental part of the game.

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Improve Your Game By Learning From The Best

Clinic Registration

Our Coaches

Phil Avlas

Hitting and Catching

John Curtis

Hitting, Pitching and Catching

Camden Duzenack

Baseball – All Areas

Steven Farnworth

Baseball – All Areas

Michael Hur

Baseball – All Areas

Lauren Lombardi

Softball – All Areas

Cody Van-Es

Baseball – All Areas

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