Baseball & Softball Programs in Skaneateles, NY

Want their child to keep playing and improving — without the pressure and commitment of travel ball. Who have a kid that watches YouTube to learn a new pitch grip, dedicates time to practice on their own, and just needs guidance. Who maybe watched their player struggle with confidence this season, wrestle with fear of failure, or start to pull back from a sport they clearly love — and wants a coach who can help them find their footing again.

No tryouts. No year-round obligation. Just quality coaching for young athletes who care about the game.

Development is the long-term progression of a young person — physically, mentally, and emotionally — through sport. Our approach is rooted in psychologically healthy coaching, age-appropriate physical progression, and fun. 

We set high expectations and hold young athletes accountable — but we push them through encouragement, confidence-building, and helping them develop their own drive to get better, not through fear, shame, or tough-love tactics. 

We meet each kid where they are, respect that they all grow at different rates, and keep things flexible so they can play other sports, take breaks, and stay healthy. The goal is a young athlete who works hard because they want to, loves the process of improving, and stays in the game for years to come.

Our lead coaches hold advanced degrees in exercise science, sport pedagogy, and education, with professional backgrounds in collegiate athletics, strength and conditioning, and youth development. 

We've studied how young people grow, how skills develop, and how confidence is built — and how quickly it can be broken by the wrong approach. 

We bring that knowledge to every session, paired with the kind of coaching that makes a young athlete want to come back tomorrow.

Dan Flanick is the owner and head coach of SkanStrength in Skaneateles, New York, and the Associate Head Baseball Coach at Cayuga Community College.

Dan has spent more than twenty-five years in athletics as an athlete, strength and conditioning coach, and sport coach. His career began in the Hudson Valley, where early experience in competitive sports led to a Division II baseball scholarship at Molloy College. After stepping away from the game during college — following the loss of a family member and a period of burnout — Dan found his way back through coaching and athletic development.

He transferred to Ithaca College to study Exercise Science and graduated in 2014. He then served as a Strength & Conditioning intern at Cornell University, working across baseball, football, basketball, track and field, and equestrian sports. From Cornell he went to Baylor University in 2014 as a Graduate Assistant in one of the country's top Division I athletic programs, training under Coach Kaz Kazadi — the 2013 collegiate Strength Coach of the Year — and working with football, tennis, acrobatics and tumbling, and cross-country. He earned his Master's degree in Sport Pedagogy at Baylor in 2015.

After graduate school, Dan returned home to Central New York. In 2017, he and his family opened SkanStrength in a 500-square-foot space below a local bar. Over the years that followed, they grew it into a 7,500-square-foot facility serving thousands of people across a wide range of ages, abilities, and athletic goals.

Today, Dan coaches at SkanStrength while also serving on the baseball staff at Cayuga Community College. Over his career, he has worked with an unusually broad range of populations, including individuals with disabilities — athletes with Down syndrome, autism, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities — as well as youth, high school, and college athletes in baseball, softball, and a wide variety of sports - lacrosse, hockey, basketball, soccer, wrestling, tennis, golf, etc..

Dan brings deep baseball coaching experience to his work. A former catcher himself, he has coached catching, hitting, throwing, and all-around baseball development — from youth and Little League levels through high school and college athletes. 

As Associate Head Coach at Cayuga Community College, Dan runs day-to-day player development, catching instruction, and strength and conditioning for the NJCAA program.

His approach combines strength and conditioning, sport-specific skill development, a healthy pedagogical approach, and the mental skills and confidence-building that athletes need to perform — built around a long-view philosophy of healthy, sustainable athletic development. Dan is particularly focused on what keeps athletes healthy and improving over years, not just weeks and seasons.

Dan holds a B.S. in Exercise Science from Ithaca College and a Master's in Sport Pedagogy from Baylor University.

Cregg Scherrer is a Skaneateles native and former semi-professional baseball player.

A 2019 graduate of Skaneateles High School, Cregg was a four-year varsity player and earned All-CNY honors in both 2018 and 2019. He was also named an Under Armour Preseason All-American his senior year — one of the top underclassman distinctions in the country.

Cregg took his game to the Division I level at the University at Albany, where he spent five seasons (2019–2024) in the America East Conference. In the summer of 2022, he earned a roster spot in the Cape Cod Baseball League — widely regarded as the most competitive summer collegiate league in the country — and helped his team capture the Cape League Championship that season.

Since 2025, Cregg has played professionally with the Trenton Thunder and the Rocky Mountain Vibes.

Coach Cregg works with youth, high school, and college athletes on all aspects of the sport ranging from baseball to hitting and fielding, healthy mindsets, and habits that carried him from Skaneateles baseball to the professional level.

Coach Phil is a coach with 25+ years of experience with pitching and instruction. Phil grew up in Northwest Indiana where he began playing baseball at 6 years old and eventually earning a scholarship to Division II Purdue Northwest University.

In 2017, Phil earned his Bachelor of Science-Biology from Purdue University, where he then began his coaching career with the Pride. He worked with Dave Griffin and Shane Prance to develop a velocity and strength program for the Pride.

After his stint at PNW, he had the opportunity to coach in Palm Springs where he coached top prospects through NCAA/NAIA/Junior College Athletics. His time there was developing collegiate athletes to move them on with their already recognizable statistics and to provide them the opportunity to move onto conferences throughout the country.

Madvek’s summer opportunity brought him to Ohio, where he was a strength and conditioning coach and assistant pitching coach as a graduate assistant at Tiffin University. With the Dragons, he was under Joe Wilkins and Brandon Cantrill, where he worked together with them to develop a strength/velocity program to get them to winning the conference tournament his first season. His experience kept the team in the running with statistics all around conference and injury free throughout the season.

Madvek’s latest experience brough him to D-Bat Mokena as a pitching instructor/coach. He moved to New York in 2020 where he is currently a Science Teacher in the Syracuse City School District and a pitching instructor throughout Onondaga County (SkanStrength).