Facility Sports Lab

Meet The Coaches

We are thrilled to introduce you to our team of highly experienced and widely recommended baseball and softball coaches. With a passion for the game and a commitment to excellence, our coaches bring an unparalleled level of expertise to every session.

Our coaches are more than just trainers; they are mentors who have dedicated their careers to the art and science of baseball and softball. They come with a rich background in competitive play and coaching, having nurtured talents at all levels – from budding enthusiasts to professional athletes. Their experience is your gateway to elevating your game.

Allen Cox

Coach Cox joins us with 25 years of coaching experience. Cox is regarded as one of the best hitting coaches in North America by some of his peers. His most recent stop was Georgia Gwinnett College as their Hitting Coach. Before joining the GGC staff, Cox was the Head Academy Coach at Okotoks Dawgs Baseball Academy in Okotoks, AB. In the 9 years in Okotoks, Coach Cox was an associate scout for the San Diego Padres and served many roles including Tournament 12, Big League Experience, Baseball Alberta and was a NCCP certified instructor.

Cox was a guest speaker at American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) in Dallas during the 75th anniversary convention. Before heading up north to Canada, Cox was the hitting coach at his alma mater Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro KY. Cox was also the Head Coach at Owensboro Catholic High School where the Aces won 2 All A State Championships’ and was an associate scout for the Milwaukee Brewers during his tenure.

Other High School Head Coaching jobs included Las Plumas High School in Oroville CA. Coach Cox has also coached Collegiate summer leagues through his years including Regina Red Sox in the WMBL and the Owensboro Oilers in the KIT league.

Allen has been a hitting instructor for all his years of coaching and has worked with Perfect Game, PBR, Hit Doctor, Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Instructor, and most recently No Doubt Showcases. Coach has sent 100’s of players to college and coached several players to professional baseball. 

Jose Polanco

I am an infield coach for the Carolina Rays Organization. Most of my playing career happened in New Jersey. I played High School baseball at Union City High School and played college baseball at Bergen Community College. During my college season I played summer ball in the Myrtle Beach area with the Carolina Shores CBL.

I moved to Myrtle Beach in 2018 to pursue my career in officiating professional baseball. After being hired with MiLB in 2020, I worked 2 seasons of pro ball before resigning and continuing my career in Division 1 baseball.

I love teaching players about the importance of every position in the infield. My biggest goal is being able to spread my knowledge of the game to the youth.

Cameron Smith

Coming from Ohio, Cameron was an all state catcher for Colonel Crawford in 2018. He was then recruited by Graceland University in Iowa as a starting catcher for the Yellowjackets.

After graduation, Cameron began his coaching career as assistant coach at Southeastern Community College. He now holds many titles such as Catching Coordinator/Assistant Hitting Coach for Facility Sports Lab and Catching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator for the Blue Claws.

He is committed to advancing the skills and futures of athletes starting at age 8 and into their professional years.

Anthony Dionisio

Anthony is currently the head coach of the Blue Crabs post grad team. Previously he has instructed at Tommy Hutton Baseball Academy, Becky Dent Baseball Academy, and IMG Academy.

In addition, he played and coached baseball at Lynn University where he had the opportunity to be coached by former New York Yankee Jim Lyttle.

Enrique De Los Rios

Enrique De Los Rios is a professional baseball player from San Antonio De Los Altos, Venezuela now residing in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Enrique began playing baseball at the age of 9 and was signed at the age of 17 as a pitcher by the Chicago Cubs. Enrique was a pitcher in the Cubs Organization from 2013 through 2019. During the winter seasons, Enrique was a starting pitcher for Leones de Caracas in the Venezuelan league. He was scheduled to play in Canada for the 2020 season but was delayed due to Covid.  In 2012, he represented Venezuela in the World Baseball Championships and in 2018 he was recognized with the Top Athlete Award in San Antonio De Los Altos.

Since 2020, Enrique has concentrated on sharing his love of baseball with younger players in both Virginia & South Carolina. Last year, Enrique was a guest coach and instructor for the Mt Vernon (VA) Patriots 12U travel team. He was also an assistant Varsity baseball coach at Myrtle Beach High School. This year, Enrique is the pitching coach for the Myrtle Beach High School JV baseball team.

Mike McDonald

Michael McDonald has worked in baseball for the last 20 years as a coach, scout, or analyst. He started as intern while in college with the Atlanta Braves doing video and pitch charts for their High A team the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. After interning for the Braves he moved into a Player Development and Pro Scouting Intern Role with the Toronto Blue Jays AA team in Manchester New Hampshire. After completing the internship with Toronto Michael went on to be an Area Scout with The Diamond Prospects while also serving as an associate scout/scout team coach for the Jays. He was in charge of evaluating and selecting the South Carolina prospects for their East Coast Pro Team.

After working with Diamond Prospects Michael went on to be the Director of Baseball Operations at Santa Clara University. He was responsible for all of the administrative duties that go along with running a Division One baseball program; while also being responsible for all the on campus recruiting. After a year in San Jose, Michael took the Director of Player Development and Analytics position at Coastal Carolina in 2016. He was in charge of all video, advanced scouting, data and analytics. He helped grow and implement data into the day to day activities and the department was recognized as one of the top five in all college baseball.

He was then offered a position to be the Fourth Coach in AAA Memphis with the St. Louis Cardinals and was named Interim Hitting Coach for the last month of the season. The Redbirds finished first or second in almost every major offensive category in 2019. From St. Louis he moved south of the border to work for the Toros de Tijuana in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol as their Quality Control Coach and at various points was moved in and out of the Bench Coach role. He was responsible for roster construction, defensive alignments, while assisting with the hitting and pitching. The Toros won the 2021 Serie del Rey, which is their World Series.

Michael has coached numerous big leaguers, all stars, and Olympians. He has a background coaching all positions and is looking forward to helping your child become a better player. He considers himself someone that has a good mix of old school and new school style of approach. He has completed several certifications from the top baseball tech companies including; Driveline, Rapsodo, K-Motion, and Sports Management Worldwide.

D.J. De Jesus

DJ, a New York native relocated to Myrtle Beach in 2015 post baseball career.  A current coach with Carolina Elite Sports specializing in infield and mental approach/game IQ.DJ, a New York native relocated to Myrtle Beach in 2015 post baseball career.  A current coach with Carolina Elite Sports specializing in infield and mental approach/game IQ.Played High School baseball in Washingtonville, NY 2004-2008Played College baseball in Plattsburgh, NY 2008-2012Played post-college baseball in Can-Am and Summer League 2013-2015DeJesus was the starting shortstop and captain of both his High School and College baseball teams before he transitioned to third base to finish his career out of Fairlawn, NJ.

Eric Opelski

I’ve been involved in Coaching and Private lessons for over 15 years. During this period I’ve sent over 100 players to play at the Collegiate Level. With over 35 that I personally trained to go on and play at the D1 and D2 level. I coached at the top organizations in Northern California and ran camps with Olympic Softball Player (Jazmyn Jackson).

I specialize in hitting and infield work, and the mental part of the game. I also go over the recruiting process. What camps to go to, and how to go about contacting coaches.

I personally played the game for almost 20 years. During this time I was a 5x State Champion, 4x Western Regional Champion. I also had two top ten finishes in the Nation.

Looking forward to taking your young athlete to the next level…..