Our Staff
Manager, 15U Monarchs
Coach Gilbert was born and raised in Tucker, Ga. He attended Tucker high school where he helped lead the team to multiple Region Championships and appearances in the Elite 8. He then attended Truett-McConnell College where he played baseball for two years before hanging up his cleats for good and got married to Amy Weiss in 1996. He holds an Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. He just completed his 22nd year of teaching and coaching in high school with the last five serving as the head baseball coach at Decatur HS. Prior to coming to Decatur HS, he coached at Tucker HS for 17 years coaching football and baseball, as well as spending 5 years at Providence Christian Academy as an assistant baseball coach. Coach Gilbert has won two State Championships in football in 2008, 2011 at Tucker and one in baseball 2012 at Providence Christian Academy.
In his time leading Decatur, he has compiled an overall record of 118-38 with four consecutive Region Championships. Prior to his arrival, Decatur hadn’t won a Region Championship since 1961. His teams have also made an appearance in the GHSA Final Four(2019) and Elite 8(2017) in his short time of being in charge. He has also been named the Region Coach of the Year the past 4 years as well as an Assistant on Team Georgia and the GADC All-Star Team. As he would tell you, the success of the Decatur Baseball Program is all in part of having amazing assistant coaches and players/parents that have bought into the “TEAM” mentality and not just individual accomplishments.
When not coaching baseball, Coach Gilbert enjoys spending time with his wife Amy and their two children Morgan(23) and Abby(19), traveling to the beach and MLB/MiLB Ballparks and visiting the beach as often as possible.
Manager, 14U Monarchs
Arm Care & Pitching Coordinator
Manager, 14U Monarchs
Coach Byrd is from the Mississippi coast and attended East Central High School where he helped lead the Hornets to a State Championship in 4A his senior year in 2008. He won Mississippi’s Pitcher of the Year with a 14-0 record and 0.97 ERA and 15.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He received a scholarship to the University of South Alabama where he played all four years for the Jaguars, three under the ABCA Hall of Fame Coach Steve Kittrell and one year under Coach Mark Calvi. Pitching mostly as a reliever, he holds the record for most appearances in school history. In 2012, he finished his degree in exercise science and worked for an Outpatient Neuro clinic until 2016, when he and his wife Elizabeth moved to Atlanta to pursue new careers. Currently, he is an assistant coach for Decatur High School and works with both infielders and pitchers. Through the completion of six seasons the Bulldogs have won four region championships with a record of 139 – 45. When not coaching baseball, Coach Byrd enjoys watching the Braves, boating, golfing and fishing.
Manager, 13U Monarchs
Coach Gooden is from Atlanta, GA, and grew up playing baseball at Medlock Park. He attended St. Pius X Catholic High School, where he played Varsity baseball for three years. As a pitcher and outfielder, he helped the Golden Lions to a 74-19 record and was a part of the 2015 team which posted a school best 29-4 record. Throughout his career in baseball he achieved many honors, including representing Team USA on their 15u and 17u NTDPs, playing in the 2015 Under Armour All-American game, and in 2016, was a Louisville Slugger All-American and the Dekalb County Pitcher of the Year. He went on to attend Georgia Tech where he pitched for the Yellow Jackets before injuries cut his career short. Coach Gooden now loves to pass his experiences on to younger age groups and is currently the head coach for the Medlock Warhawks Middle School team in addition to leading the 13U Monarchs. When he is not on the baseball field you can find him on the golf course or enjoying the Georgia weather at Piedmont Park.
Hitting Coordinator
Coach Evans has more than twenty years of experience coaching baseball and softball hitters of all levels, including Division I elite college players, professionals and Olympians. As a player, she led Western Washington University to the 1998 national championship, and was inducted in the WWU Hall of Fame in 2011 after setting twelve school hitting records. She uses a combination of customized drills, video analysis and high intensity individual lessons and group workouts to lead each hitter to their highest potential. As a Coach, she was Head Coach for Skagit Valley College (1999-2000) and Assistant Coach and head hitting instructor for the University of Virginia (2001-2005) before relocating to Atlanta with her husband Mike. When not instructing, Coach Evans enjoys spending time with her family, including passing on her craft to her two baseball loving sons.
Strength & Conditioning Coordinator
Coach Stringer graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, OH in 1990. He was a four year Varsity baseball letterman, and was peer-elected team captain his senior year. He was named first team All-Conference two years, and his batting average put him in the conference’s top ten three years in a row. Phil has spent over 30 years in strength and conditioning, with the last 10 years working as a Level 1 and Level 2 Crossfit Coach. He specializes in training athletes between the ages of 8-18, emphasizing good technique and functional movement patterns to build fast, strong, and safe athletes. His motto is “hard work will take you where you want to go.”
Pitching Coach & Assistant Coach, 13U Monarchs
Paul grew up in Alpharetta, GA and played high school baseball at St. Francis High School. After high school, he attended Emory University where he pitched for 4 years and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2012 MLB Draft following his senior season. Paul spent three season in the Rangers minor league system, reaching high A Myrtle Beach before being released in 2014. Following his time with the Rangers, Paul had elbow surgery and took 5 years off from playing baseball. Starting in 2019, he began playing in a men’s league locally, and decided to give baseball another shot after increasing his velocity due to new training methods. In 2020, he played in the American Association for the Chicago Dogs, and then was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 2021 after return to the Dogs that season. Paul is currently training for the 2022 season and looking to sign a free agent contract. He lives in Medlock Park with his wife, Nikki, and two dogs, Moxie and Millie. Having faced his fair share of adversity/injuries/performance struggles in his career, Paul enjoys helping young pitchers take advantage of the knowledge he’s gained along the way.
Assistant Coach, 15U Monarchs
Coach Ksionzyk returns to the Monarchs for the 2021-2022 season, his 4th season as a coach for the Monarchs. He previously served as the Manager of the 13U Monarchs from 2017-2019. Coach Ksionzyk currently coaches at St. Pius X as the Varsity Pitching Coach. He helped lead the Golden Lions to a Final 4 appearance in 5-AAAAA in 2021 where they were 1 win away from their first-ever state finals appearance. He led his pitching staff to 28 wins, a combined 2.73 ERA, and a 3:1strikeout to walk ratio. He had 2 pitchers named to the All-State 5-AAAAA team, one pitcher named 5-AAAAA Pitcher of the Year, and 2 additional pitchers earn 2nd Team All-Region. Prior to joining St. Pius X as the Varsity Pitching Coach, he served St. Pius X as Head Freshman Coach (2019), Head 8th-Grade Coach (2016-18), and Assistant 8th-Grade Coach (2009-12). He was a standout player for St. Pius X, and a member of the first team in school history to advance to the state quarterfinals (2004). Coach Ksionzyk played two seasons at Pitt Community College (Greenville, NC), where he led the 2006 team in hitting with a .432 average and was named Second-Team All-Conference. He works in technology sales at Jacada and lives in Peachtree Corners with his wife Marie, their daughter Thea (1), and dog Peaches.
Assistant Coach, 13U Monarchs
Coach Assenmacher is from Johns Creek, GA, and is the son of former Major League pitcher Paul Assenmacher. He attended St. Pius X Catholic High School where he played baseball all four years and helped lead the team to a school best 29-4 record during his Junior season. He graduated from St. Pius X in 2016. He now attends Georgia State University and is an Entrepreneurship major. When he is not at the baseball diamond, you can catch Clayton on the golf course or watching his favorite team the Cleveland Indians.
Assistant Coach, 14U Monarchs
Coach Gilbert played baseball at Providence Christian Academy for two years and two years of Varsity at Tucker High School, where he led Dekalb County in fielding percentage. After high school he spent four years working inside the home clubhouse for the Atlanta Braves as a batboy and clubhouse attendant. When he’s not on the diamond, he’s usually playing golf or watching the Braves play.
Assistant Coach, 14U Monarchs
Coach Hartman is from Decatur, GA, and grew up playing baseball at Medlock Park. As a catcher, he played four years of Varsity baseball for Decatur High School and graduated in 2018. In the playoffs of the 2017-2018 season, he caught 31 innings within 22 hours against Walnut Grove, as well as earning the Gold Glove award for both the Region and County. He is now a Senior at Georgia State University where he plans to graduate in 2022 with a degree in Computer Science. He also has a CO-OP position at Georgia Tech where he works in the IT field. When he’s not out on the diamond, he likes to spend time making specialty coffee and playing golf with his father.