Who makes up our Instructional Staff?

Ken Ulrich Baseball offers some of the finest instruction found in the Tri-State area. Our coaching staff has been comprised of fun, hard working individuals who have all had superior playing and/or coaching experience, from the scholastic, collegiate, or professional ranks. In addition, each instructional staff member has had experience in the school teaching profession across the Rockland County area, and possesses the communication skills needed in order to interact with children of all ages.

Ken Ulrich Baseball would like to welcome our newest coaches: Tom Lynch, Chris Dwyer and Chris Brescia. We look forward to sharing their pics and bios on this page soon!

Dan Neil is a new addition to Ken Ulrich Baseball, and will work primarily with pitching instruction throughout the winter months. Currently a left handed pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization, Neil graduated from Clarkstown South in 1996, where he was a classmate of Ken Ulrich.

From there, he attended Rockland Community College for 2 years, where he was the Mid-Hudson Conference MVP in 1998, and later earned a scholarship to St. John's as both a pitcher and outfielder. After a successful stint solely as a pitcher with the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod League, Dan signed with the Indians as a free agent. In 2001, he was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star game after going 6-4, with a 1.33 era.

This past fall, Neil played in the prestigious Arizona Fall League with and against many of the top prospects in professional baseball today.

Joe Zeccardi comes to Ken Ulrich Baseball by way of Nanuet, NY where he was a scholastic star at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, NJ. He is presently hitting and outfield coach at Rockland Community College, after spending three years as graduate assistant coach at Long Island University, while finishing up his master's degree at his alma mater.

As a player, Zeccardi was a four-year letterman for the Blackbirds, where he still holds the single season records for batting average (.444), runs batted in (58), and home runs (13). In 1999, he was named Northeast Conference Player of the Year. Following his graduation from LIU, Zeccardi played professionally in Grosetto, Italy, where he hit .318 for the 2000 season.

In addition to his coaching duties, Zeccardi is a physical education teacher in the East Ramapo Central school district.

Mike Dwyer offers to Ken Ulrich Baseball top-quality instruction after recently completing a stellar playing career, both collegiately and professionally.

After leading North Rockland High School to two straight state championships from 1993-1994 (along with fellow instructors Mike Rooney and Pat Carey), Dwyer continued his baseball career at the University of Richmond in Virginia, where he was a two-time All-American first baseman for the Spiders. Following the 1999 season when he was named Colonial Athletic Conference Player of the Year, he was selected in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Boston Red Sox.

Dwyer spent two years in the Red Sox organization prior to becoming a physical education teacher at North Rockland High, where he is also assistant varisty baseball coach.

Vinny Michello joins the instructional staff of Ken Ulrich Baseball after a successful playing career in the Rockland County area.

After playing scholastically as a three-year varsity starter at Clarkstown South High School, Michello went on to play at Rockland Community College, where he was the starting first baseman for two years. From there, he went to Hofstra University on Long Island, where he was a two-time all-conference selection for the Flying Dutchmen.

Michello is currently assistant baseball coach at Clarkstown South, as well as a physical education teacher at Felix Festa Middle School in West Nyack.

Mike Rooney comes to Ken Ulrich Baseball able to share the vast knowledge of the game of baseball that one gains from five years of professional experience. Currently a social studies teacher at North Rockland High School, he is also pitching coach at Rockland Community College.

Rooney spent his scholastic days leading North Rockland to two consecutive state championships (along with fellow instructors Mike Dwyer and Pat Carey). He was then drafted out of high school by the Seattle Mariners as a shortstop, but decided to attend Penn State University on a baseball scholarship. After two years as a Nitanny Lion, Rooney transfered back to New York to play for St. Johns, and was later drafted as a pitcher by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 6th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft.

Rooney pitched in the Diamondback organization for five years, and reached as high as the Triple-A level.

Pat Carey joins Ken Ulrich Baseball able to give perspective of the game from both a coaching and playing standpoint. He is currently the head coach at Iona College. He was previously head coach at Rockland Community College.

While playing for North Rockland High School (along with fellow instructors Mike Rooney and Mike Dwyer), Carey helped lead his team to back-to-back state titles, in 1993 and 1994. He then went on the play at RCC for two years where he was named Region 15 Player of the Year in 1996. From there, he accepted a baseball scholarship to Providence College and set a BIG EAST Championship record by hitting .660 for the Friars in the 1998 conference tournament.

In addition to his coaching duties at Fordham University, Carey is currently employed in the North Rockland School District.

A native of West Nyack, Tara Ulrich has joined her brother, Ken's staff, and will be running the softball session of camp. One of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Hofstra University, Tara became the first player in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) history to earn four all-conference selections. Ulrich finished her career with the Pride in 2006, where she ranked in the career top 10 in several offensive categories including home runs (2nd with 29), hits (8th, 191), runs batted in (6th, 133), games played (6th, 219), at bats (6th, 658), and doubles (5th, 46).