We believe top players like you deserve a top team of coaches, trainers, and travel coordinators. That is why we only hire the best! Our staff of top college, junior college, and high school coaches look forward to the challenge of making your softball experience worthwhile and memorable.

You will benefit from our outstanding coaches who are as committed to your personal development as they are to your success on the field. They will drill you in every aspect of the game and help you improve your self-confidence, conditioning techniques, and ability to excel in competitive situations. They will provide a clearer picture of your abilities and what you need to accomplish in order to become a successful high school and collegiate player.

As former top athletes themselves, they know what it is like to compete at the highest levels and they are eager to show you how to attract the attention of college recruiters. We'll even have a certified athletic trainer on staff to keep an eye on your health and fitness during the tour.

You can also depend on our staff of program directors and administrators to make sure you get from place to place safely and comfortably. And since there's at least one staff member for every six-seven players, you'll always get the attention you deserve.

You will also find the administrators at our Ohio headquarters and New York regional office eager and willing to help address any concerns every step of the way.

Here are some of our staff:

Jeanne Arbuckle
Coach Arbuckle has 16 years of coaching experience at Marietta College in Ohio . She earned her bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Slippery Rock (PA) University and a master’s degree in physical education from Ithaca College (NY). Arbuckle guided Marietta College to its first ever OAC Championship in 1996. This team was also the first ever women’s team at Marietta to make the NCAA tournament. Selected as the OAC Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996, and the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year in 1996, Jeanne’s teams have won nearly 300 games during her tenure. She currently serves as the College’s Associate Athletics Director.

Janet Balowski (Trainer)
Janet has been on the faculty of the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Training Educational Program (ATEP) for the past 3 years. Additionally she has acted as an advisor to over 50 undergraduate students involved in the ATEP program. A 1991 graduate of Eastern Michigan , Balowski went on to complete a Master’s degree in Health Education at the University of Wisconsin ( Madison ) in 1994. From 1994-1996 she served as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at Lehigh University in Bethlehem , PA. Balowski is currently completing post-graduate work in Counseling at EMU. A past traveler with Coast to Coast (Europe 2002), Janet has also traveled to Puerto Rico (1999) with a group of amateur athletes. Janet currently resides in Ypsilanti , MI .

Jim Cotter
Coach Cotter carries with him a career record of 185 wins and 74 losses (.710 winning pct.) in Connecticut ’s largest high school classification. Over the past 11 years, his Norwich Free Academy teams have won three Eastern Connecticut Conference Championships and have made four state softball tournament Final Four appearances. During this same span, Cotter has helped to develop 22 players who have gone on to play fastpitch at the collegiate level. Jim holds an undergraduate degree in History and Social Sciences from the Eastern Connecticut State University along with a Master’s in Guidance and Counseling from Providence College .

Sean Cotter
Coach Cotter recently returned from Down Under where he led a team of Coast to Coast All-Stars this past Christmas. When not traveling overseas, Sean serves as the Head Softball Coach at Plattsburgh State University in upstate New York . A 1997 graduate of the University of Connecticut , Sean earned an undergraduate degree in History. He stayed at “U-Conn” and completed an MA in Counseling Psychology in 2000. Prior to being named Head Coach at Plattsburgh , Cotter served a year at the helm of the Teikyo Post University softball program in Waterbury , CT.

Ruth Gibbs
Coach Gibbs recently fished her 8th season at the helm of the Muhlenberg College softball program, the 2001-02 Centennial Conference champs. Prior to taking over the head coaching position at Muhlenberg, Ruth served as a Division I assistant at Rutgers University from 1979-1994, this after 10 successful seasons (including 4 New Jersey state championships) at Phillipsburg High School. A current resident of Clinton , New Jersey , Coach Gibbs recently made her third trip with Coast to Coast having traveled to Australia (2001), Europe (2002) and Hawaii (2003).

Maggie Grayson
A 2002 Graduate of Marietta College where Maggie played four years of Varsity softball at Marietta College and earned a degree in Sport Medicine and Masters in Education. Maggie has served as an assistant coach on Several Coast to Coast Softball trips to Australia and as a Liaison with other Coast to Coast trips. Maggie continues to play a role with Coast to Coast, outside of the trips, facilitating some of our tryouts. Maggie was recently married and completed her Masters degree. She lives in Edmond, OK. with her husband Todd and dog Magnus.

Tim Kiernan
Coach Kiernan has been coaching softball for over 30 years. For the past 16 years Coach Kiernan has been the Head coach of the Sacramento City College Women’s Softball Team with a 804 and 114 record with 3 championships and one national championship. Coach Kiernan has coached A.S.A. summer teams to a 2644 and 324 record with a National Championship in 1994. Tim has coached 77 All American players and over 160 scholarship players. Tim has been a speaker at more than 300 camps and clinics throughout the US. In 1999 he was an Assistant Coach of the Virginia Roadsters WPSL team. In 2001, 2002 and 2003 Coach Kiernan was the head coach of the WPSL and NPF All-Stars. In 2004 Coach Kiernan was the Head Coach of the Women’s Professional Team California Sunbirds. Coach Kiernan has an associate degree from River College, B.S. and M.A. degrees from Central Michigan University. He is currently a professor of Physical Education at Sacramento City College.

Shelly Koehler   COAST TO COAST EXECUTIVE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
As a former High School Head Softball Coach and a DIII collegiate player at Elmhurst College in Illinois, Coach Koehler has served as a head coach with Coast to Coast on several softball trips to Australia and Hawaii. Coach Koehler Headed up Summit High Schools Varsity softball program in Colorado for 5 years. Where, in the 3rd year of the program, she brought home the league championship in one of the toughest leagues in Colorado. Coach Koehler also coached A.S.A Summer Travel League teams for 4 years bringing home many tournament championships. Shelly brings discipline, fun and a competitive well rounded nature to the Coast to Coast Softball program.

Jill LeBordais
Coach LeBourdias was the Assistant Coach at Saginaw Valley State University from 1999-2004, a Div II varsity Program, and worked primarily with pitchers but is an all around coach in the game of softball. Jill played at Central Michigan University, NCAA Div I softball program, all 4 years where she was on 2 MAC Championship teams and was named all-MAC and all-Region. Jill has worked many college clinics in the state of Michigan and continues to promote the sport of fastpitch softball through her personal instruction and love for the game.

Fred Neering
In his six year’s at Saginaw Valley State University , Coach Neering has built the program into a NCAA-DII force to be reckoned with in Midwest . Prior to taking over the SVSU program in 1997, Fred served as an assistant coach at Bay City All-Saints HS, helping the team to a 34-2 record and state runner-up finish. Previous coaching stops include Essexville-Garber HS and Pinconning Area HS. A 1963 graduate of Central Michigan University , Neering worked for 32 years at General Motors in personnel and manufacturing. Fred and his wife, Judi currently reside in Bay City , Michigan .

Sara Norman
Coach Norman began playing Dixie League baseball and softball at age 8. By the time she was in the 8th grade she had settled in as a catcher and was playing on the high school’s junior varsity team. The recipient of numerous awards, Sara batted a remarkable .593 her junior season. From there she went on to star at Eastern Mennonite University where she was named Conference Player of the Year and a Regional All-American. While her college coaching career began as an assistant at her alma mater, she has since moved on to Bridgewater College (VA) where she has been an assistant since for the past 6 seasons. Coach Norman has also been heavily involved in instructing at summer camps for the past 7 years. Sara enjoys coaching softball because she feels it’s the best way she, “can pass on her lifelong love of softball and her knowledge of the game to other young women.”

Diana Pepin
A 1992 graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University and a former four-year letterwinner in the softball program there, Diana was named (2001) the sixth head coach in the program’s 26-year history. Also a member of the ECSU women’s basketball coaching staff, Pepin was a three-year started as an infielder in the softball program between 1988-1991, helping the Warriors to four regional championships and the 1990 DIII National Championship. During her college career, ECSU also placed third (1988) and second twice (1989 & 1991) at the DIII World Series. Diana was a member of the 1990 national tournament all-tournament team and served as a co-captain as a senior in 1991. Prior to being named the Head Coach at ECSU, Diana coached high school softball at Rockville HS (CT) where she led the Rams to a record of 52-8 over her final three seasons. In additional to holding a BS in Sociology, Pepin earned a BS in Physical Education from Eastern in May of 1999.

Kevin Ritter
In addition to his current post as the Executive Program Director for Coast to Coast Athletics, Coach Ritter has a long and varied background in baseball and softball. After playing four years (1987-1990) of Division I baseball at Central Michigan University , Ritter went on to coach baseball at both the high school and college level ( Case Western Reserve University ). From 1996-1998, Kevin spent three summers playing and coaching for the Aalen Strikers Baseball Club in southern Germany . His involvement with international baseball has also taken him to China , Australia , the Czech Republic , Switzerland , Belgium and the Netherlands where he has served both as a coach and as a delegation leader. Ritter has spent the past 3 seasons coaching women’s softball at Marietta College in Ohio . Kevin now resides in Marietta , Ohio and works full time for Coast to Coast.

Eric Shafer
Eric played college baseball as a catcher/second baseman for Marietta College in Ohio . Coach Shafer also played internationally in Gauting , Germany . He has coached Senior League (ages 13 – 15) in Ironton Ohio since finishing his playing career and has coached both baseball and softball internationally. He also spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Marietta College softball program. Eric graduated from Marietta College with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine and a minor in Biology. This fall he will begin medical school at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio .

Stacey Sullivan
Currently Coach Sullivan Heads the Softball Program at Merrimack College in North Andover MA. A NCAA Div II varsity program. Coach Sullivan was a 4 year starter as Catcher or Outfielder for the University of Maine - NCAA Div I softball program - where she received a Full Scholarship and majored in Communications. Coach Sullivan went on to receive her MA in Education from Northeastern University in Boston MA. She has since been a private instructor focusing on hitting, catching and pitching techniques as well as coaching at the collegiate level since 2002.

Sara Tharp
Sara graduated from Mount Union College ( Alliance , Ohio ) in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. While attending Mount she was a four-year letter winner in softball. During her career, Tharp was named to the All-OAC team 3 times, earning first team honors twice. She was also named to the All-Region team twice and during her senior season Sara was named a first team DIII All-American. After graduating from Mt. Union , Sara was named as a Graduate Assistant to the softball program at Marietta College (OH), where she is currently completing a Masters degree in Education. At Marietta , Sara works primarily with the pitchers. Her future plans include teaching and coaching high school softball.

Kim Tolve (Trainer)
Kim is an N.A.T.A. Certified Athletic Trainer who hails from Brooklyn , NY . She received her Bachelors Degree from Hunter College ( Manhattan ) and her Masters Degree from Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus). Kim’s work experience as an Athletic Trainer ranges from Divisions I & III College Athletics, the High School setting, and a Rehabilitation Clinic. As a matter of fact, her training room at Poly Prep Country Day School ( Brooklyn ) was bestowed the honor of the Joseph Abraham award by the New York State Athletic Trainer’s Association in 1999. This award is presented to one Training Room in the entire state once a year. It was developed to recognize the hard work and efforts of Athletic Trainers that provide the highest level of care for their athletes. Kim left Poly Prep at the end of the 1999 school year to return to school and begin her second Masters Degree. She is now teaching in the New York City Department of Education and also works as a free-lance Athletic Trainer for various organizations.

Laura Wieher
Coach Wieher has been playing the game since the age of 5 and continued to play on into high School and through college. After graduating from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Education Laura went on to obtain her Masters form National-Louis University. During and after all her schooling, Laura continued to play in competitive womens leagues in Illinois- for the love of the game. Coach Wieher started her coaching career at Lyons Township High School – a very competitive and successful High School Softball program based in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Coach Wieher was the Assistant Varsity coach and JV Head Coach at Lyons Township. After 5 years of coaching and teaching she moved west to Colorado, where she then joined forces as the Assistant Coach with Coach Shelly at Summit High School in Silverthorne Colorado. Coach Wieher currently resides in Dillon Colorado and is now the Head Coach at Summit High School . She continues to devote her time to player improvement on every level. Coach Wieher brings her integrity, competitive nature and love of the game to Coast to Coast programs.

Jaime Wohlbach
A college standout as a player at Kutztown University (1997-2000), Jaime was named to the All-PSAC, All-Region and All-Region Tournament teams during her career. Additionally, she served as a team caption for three seasons while winning the Coaches Award twice. Upon completing her college career, Wohlbach was selected to play with the Tampa Fire Stix in the Women’s Professional Softball League. When the WPSL disbanded the following year, she went to Europe where she played and coached in the Netherlands. During this time she was named to, and competed for, the Dutch National Team. Most recently, she served as a paid assistant with the University of Pennsylvania’s NCAA Division I softball program. A December, 2000 graduate of Kutztown University, Jaime also holds a Masters in Education (2003) from the same institution. In 2004 Jaime signed with the Professional Softball team California Sunbirds for the 2004 season. Jaime also recently signed a contract with the Nakona glove-making company to produce her own signature model.

Straum Yorton (Trainer)
Straum was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in the small town of Otisville, Michigan. He earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Sports Medicine and Biology from Central Michigan University. Yorton wrestled for one year while at CMU. He has worked at Central Michigan since 1992 at The CHIP Facility; an industrial athletic training clinic designed to help CMU lower health care and worker's compensation costs for the university. Straum enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities such as golf, softball and volleyball. He is also an avid hunter and fisherman. He has traveled to many different states and Canada to hunt and fish. Additionally, he enjoys working on his computer and collecting baseball cards (The centerpiece of his collection is the complete 1952-4 Red Man Chewing Tobacco sets).