Staff

To schedule a lesson with one of our professional instructors, please call 973-777-BATS.

Robyn provides both Fastpitch pitching and hitting instruction. She has been giving pitching instructions for the past 10 years and hitting instruction for 2 years. She can provide individual and well as group lessons and clinics.

Robyn has a BS degree from Montclair State University in Recreation and Leisure Studies. As a student athlete at Montclair, she was twice selected All American and is also a two time recipient of the "NJ Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year." Montclair selected her as "Athlete of the Year" during both her Junior and Senior years. Prior to Montclair, she played softball for West Milford High School where she was elected "All Conference," "All County," and "All State."

Robyn has also served as an assistant Softball coach at both Seton Hall University and Union County College. She has helped to organize as well as run numerous camps and clinics.

Frank Bodner began his baseball career as a Group IV All-State Outfielder for Irvington High School. With Irvington, he established school records in Runs Scored &Stolen bases with a High School career average of .404. Frank was inducted into the Irvington High School Sports Hall of Fame for Baseball in 1994 and is a Veteran of Essex County League Baseball, Union County League Baseball, and Morris County Majors/ Semi-Pro Leagues.

Coach Bodner played as an Outfielder for Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. He also played for Kean University in Union, NJ and was awarded the title of Outfielder/DH "Team Player of the Year" in 1980.

Coach Bodner has had over 20 years experience in coaching and instruction in Little League Baseball, Babe Ruth Baseball, American Legion Baseball, AAU Baseball, and PAL Baseball. He also directs several clinics on both the High School and Collegiate levels. Other organizations Frank is involved in are High School Select-Fest, Major League Baseball / In The Community, Major League Baseball/ Reviving Baseball In the Inner Cities (RBI Program), Boys & Girls Clubs of America / Baseball Clinics/ Teacher/ Coach, Professional Baseball Instructor/ Individual and Group Instruction, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association/ Baseball Clinician.

Coach Bodner has done Professional Baseball Scouting for the Northeast Region of New York and New Jersey. He worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks (NL Western Division Champions - 2000) from 1998-1999 and currently is an Associate Scout / Northeast Region with the Seattle Mariners, one of the top organizations in Major League Baseball.

For the past fifteen years, Nick has been specializing in batting for those individuals from age 7 through collegiate level in both baseball and softball.

Ish specializes in softball. He has trained girls in Fastpitch softball for over 20 years.

Ish’s accomplishments include:

3 years in a row BCSL American Division coach of the year.
Led Rutherford H.S. to 3 straight league championships
Is the batting instructor for the Clifton Cobras 16U team which finished 9th in the Nationals in Viena, Ohio (2005)
Does numerous softball clinics throughout New Jersey
Helped many of his players to play in Division 1 & 2 colleges
Works with players of all levels (Grammar, High School, College and Professionals throughout New Jersey and New York)
Coaches the 18U Elite Clifton Cobras in the Summer and Fall
Scouts for many local colleges and Universities

Kim Higgins joined the Seton Hall University softball staff in the fall of 2001. A former standout pitcher at Caldwell College, Higgins brings a gift for teaching and an unmatched enthusiasm for the sport. She coached first base this season for the SHU Pirates and works closely with Seton Hall's pitchers, among numerous other duties.

Higgins was the junior varsity coach at Nutley High School in 1998 and 1999 as well as the coach of the Clifton Cobras summer club team in 1995. Higgins also played for the Cobras and was the first player inducted into their Hall of Fame.

Higgins graduated from Caldwell College in 1997 with a degree in education and psychology. She was a three-time all-conference performer and was twice named to the league's all-tournament team. She was an Academic All-American as a junior and a member of the Kappa Delta Epsilon Education Honor Society. Higgins is also a professional healthcare representative and resides in Nutley, NJ.

Coach Luna is a former "All Area" Scholastic Star at Lodi HS, and a former Semi-Pro Player. Coach Luna brings over 20 years of youth coaching and instructing at various levels of baseball ranging from Little League, High School, American Legion and Metropolitan Baseball. He also has directed several baseball camps and clinics.

Coach Luna's innovative coaching techniques along with an excellent rapport with young ball players has resulted in high praise from parents and coaches in the metropolitan area. Coach Luna is also a respected talent evaluator and major league scouting liaison.

Coach Luna resides in Lodi, NJ where he has served on the Board of Education. He is involved in many organizations and activities such as the Major League Baseball High School Select Fest, Professional baseball instruction / group and individual instruction, numerous baseball clinics, the Boys & Girls Club of America, Lodi Recreation Athletic Committee, Baseball Player Development Program Instructor, and Little League Baseball. Beginning with the 2008 season, Coach Luna will be working as Head Coach for the Paramus Catholic Varsity Baseball Team.

Steve Markovich is a professional MLB Scout. He started his scouting career working for more than 15 years with the Kansas City Royals. For the past 6 years he has been the NY Yankees scout in the New Jersey area. As a coach, Markovich Specializes in the art of Catching and game management. Steve has lead many programs in the tri state area sharing his tremendous wealth of skill and knowledge with young catchers eager to learn the details behind a sport and position they want to be the best in.

Javier Martinez is a recent graduate of Seton Hall Prep High School. Javi played baseball for the Prep as their number one starting pitcher. He led the Pirates to county, conference, and state championships. During his senior year, the Pirates achieved a #1 ranking in the state, the Star Ledger Trophy, #11 ranking in the nation by USA Today and #10 in the nation by Baseball America.

Javi ended the Prep's baseball season 9-0 with a .88 ERA. He received honors for 1st team all county, 1st team all conference, Essex county player of the year, 2nd team All State all groups, 1st team All State Parochial, Worrell Publications player of the year and 1st team All Area. He will be attending Fordham University in the fall on baseball scholarship.

Lefty’s is proud to add Joe Martinez to our coaching staff. Joe is a graduate of Seton Hall Prep where he was 3rd Team All State twice, State champions 2001. Joe attended Boston College where he majored in Finance and Human Resources. At Boston College Joe was a unanimous selection to the “All Big East First Team after leading his team in innings pitched, strikeouts and complete games (6). He threw four straight complete games from 4/9-5/1… was 5-4 with a 5.71 ERA in 28 games over three years at BC from 2002-2004. He was an “All Star” for Hyannis in the Cape Cod League in 2004. Upon graduation from Boston this past May, Joe was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and is currently playing in their organization.

Joe Nigro is a Professional Scout with Major League Baseball. Joe worked with the Detroit Tigers from 1978-1986, the Seattle Mariners 1987-1993, the NY Mets from 1993-2007 and recently took on the Pro Scouting position with the Tampa Bay Rays. Joe has scouted in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and has scouted various players for Major League Trades. Joe Nigro works with players of all ages interested in becoming better ball players.

Frank is a graduate of Bloomfield High School, where he played varsity baseball and pitched for 4 years. Frank continued his pitching career with Morris County College. He has played in many independent baseball leagues. Frank’s coaching experience includes American Legion Baseball (ages 14-19) as well as an assistant coach at Newton High School. Frank Orlando is well known for his Winter Hitting Clinic which he has run for the past 15 years. The Hitting Clinic is once again being offered here at Lefty’s. Frank is available for both hitting and/or pitching lessons for boys ages 7-18 years old. Frank’s training sessions are high intensity and always enjoyable.

Katie Pierce is a 2006 Seton Hall University Graduate where she holds the records in: Hits per Season, Hits per Career, Doubles per Season, Doubles per Career and Triples per Season.

In her senior year of High School, Katie was named to the 2002 NFCA 1st Team All-American Softball Selection and was nominated for Softball Captain, elect. Katie’s College softball career took off and in 2003, Katie was a member of the NCAA Big East All-Rookie Team. In 2004, she was named to the NCAA Big East 2nd Team, NCAA Big East Academic All-Conference, was Seton Hall’s Female Sophomore Athlete of the Year, and 2004/05 NCAA All Northeast Region 2nd Team. In her senior year at SHU, Katie was once again named Seton Hall Female Athlete of the Year, achieved NCAA Academic All-American status and named to the 2006 NCAA All Northeast Region 1st Team. Lefty’s Sports Academy is extremely proud to add Katie Pierce to our fine staff.

Katie is available for instruction for fielding, hitting and base running skills.

Only one person has been in uniform for each of the Jackals' three championships in the last five years: Ani Ramos. The effervescent Ramos returns to the Jackals this year to serve as the team's bullpen coach for the seventh consecutive season. Ramos, who played and coached at Ramapo College, is a Fairfield resident who has also managed in the Met League.

Ani enjoys working with players who are looking to improve their hitting, pitching or catching capabilities.

Frank began his career at Don Bosco Tech where he was named MVP 3 years in a row. His 3 year Varsity pitching record was 22-4. His 1.89 ERA average remains the lowest ERA in school history. Rendini’s 4 year batting average was 343. He was named All County for three years and All State in both his Junior and Senior years.

Coach Rendini played for William Paterson College with a 2 year Varsity record of 10-2 finishing his college career with the schools 5^th lowest ERA of 2.25.

Frank has been the pitching coach at Passaic Valley High School, St. Thomas College and Globe Tech Jr. College (Div. 1 Jr. College). He currently is a College Recruiter & Talent Evaluator for St. Thomas College as well as an Associate Scout under Steve Markovich, for the NY Yankees. Frank works with both baseball and softball players helping to improve their pitching and hitting.

McKenzie played at Seton Hall University from 2001-2004. She was a four-year starter and starting right fielder on Seton Hall's first-ever Big East Conference championship team in 2004... The all-time leader in Seton Hall history with 192 hits and 612 at bats and 191 games played... Second all-time in runs scored with 104 and stolen bases with 52... Her 61 hits in 2004 were a single-season record, as were her 197 at bats... Also has the single-season stolen base record with 22 in 2003... All-BIG EAST First Team honoree in 2004... BIG EAST All-Rookie Team in 2001... 2003 Seton Hall Junior Female Athlete of the Year and 2002 Seton Hall Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year... BIG EAST Academic All-Star as a sophomore, junior and senior... Led the team in hits as a senior and junior... Led the team in stolen bases as a junior and sophomore... Career .314 hitter. McKenzie returns to Lefty’s this year working with numerous softball hitters and fielders specializing in slapping.

Joe Rivera is a graduate of Clifton High School where he was named All League, All County and All Area as a pitcher and outfielder. He also helped Clifton in back to back County and Group IV Sectional Championships.

Coach Rivera continued playing for Kean University, where he received a BA in Physical Education and Health. During his first year at Kean, he received All-Conference, All State, All Tournament Team, and All Region Honors as an outfielder. Joe still holds the school record for doubles in a season. Along with the doubles record, he is in the top 5 for runs, home runs, RBI's and hits in a season, and most doubles in a career.

Joe received a Masters of Science in Health at New Jersey City University. He started his first coaching job as Kean's outfield coach. The following year he was the hitting coach at Union County College. Currently, he serves as the Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach in Clifton, where he also teaches Physical Education and Health.

Joe is an enthusiastic coach, who teaches the fundamentals, rules, and safety of baseball in an atmosphere that promotes sportsmanship and fun.

Jay is a graduate of Bloomfield High School, where he played both baseball and football. While playing for Bloomfield, he was named First Team All-State in his junior and senior years in baseball. He was also named First Team All-County while playing football. Jay continued his education at William Paterson University, earning a Bachelors Degree as a Teacher of the Handicapped. At William Paterson he was a four year starter on the baseball team, where he won the Lou Grecco Award for most dedicated player and was named captain his junior and senior years.

Jay is currently a Special Education Teacher at Bloomfield Middle School. For the past four years he has coached at the High School level in Baseball, Football and Track and Field. Prior to that he coached Bloomfield’s’ Junior Legion Baseball Team for three years. He is also currently a coach for the Lefty’s Lightening 18 and under team.

Jay provides instruction for athletes of all ages, specializing in the area of hitting. For the past 10 years, he has co-run “The Hitting Clinic”, which runs from January to March every year. The clinic has produced many All State and All County players, with numerous athletes playing baseball on the college level.

Ed Ward

Coach Ward is an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for NJIT. At NJIT, he is responsible for recruiting and coordinating practices while also acting as hitting coach, and as a trainer for catchers and outfielders. Coach Ward has also held positions at Felician College, Fairleigh Dickinson University and was Head Baseball Coach at the David Brearley High School in Kenilworth. Ed Ward is widely known around NJ Baseball for the numerous baseball camps he directs during the summer and off season. He is a member of the “American Baseball Coaches Assoc.” and the “NJ State Baseball Umpires Association”.