hit dogs LEADERSHIP
COACHING & LEADERSHIP
Our coaching staff sets us apart, blending decades of experience with a passion for mentorship:
- 40+ Years of Combined Experience: Our coaches bring deep knowledge from collegiate and professional playing backgrounds to provide our athletes with a proven path to success.
- Proven Backgrounds: We have paid coaches for all of our high school teams and supplement some of our youth teams with paid staff in-season as well. Our coaches have either grown up in our program as an athlete or come from a collegiate or higher playing background and have been on-boarded with the Windy City Hit Dogs way.
- Dalton Lundeen is the Academy Director for the program and leads Pitching.
- Garrett Peterson is the Director of Sport Performance.
- Ty Marotz is the Facility Coordinator and Youth Pitching lead.
- Brian Rasek is the Youth Academy Administrator (8-13U).
- We have an advisory board that is currently led by Armando Bombino.
ACADEMY DIRECTOR, DALTON LUNDEEN
Originally from Streamwood, Illinois, Dalton played 3 varsity sports at Streamwood High School during his time there, lettering in football, basketball, and baseball. After graduating in 2012, he went on to pitch in Division 1 at Valparaiso University in Indiana. As a freshman, he paced the Crusaders with 74 IP including a win over Top 10 Arizona State on the road.
He also was the pitcher of record across 8 immaculate innings against Wright State University in the conference title game, which provided Valpo with an NCAA title berth. As a Sophomore, he led the conference with a 1.94 ERA across 84 innings en route to the Pitcher of the Year in the Horizon League. In total, he walked away from Valpo as the all-time innings leader (343.1), third most strikeouts in school history, as well as boasting all-conference first team 2x and all-tournament team 3x.
After graduating with a Marketing & Business Administration degree in 2016, Dalton was selected in the 2016 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers organization. He competed across several minor league levels until he returned home in 2018 to pursue a full-time career and be a part of the Crystal Lake Cardinals Organization.
He has spent time training at Driveline Baseball in Seattle, learning from some of the best minds in the game and continues to try to learn something new about the game every day. Baseball is his lifelong passion and he hopes to continue to help young baseball players achieve their dreams.
Performance Coach, Garrett Peterson
Over the past decade, Garrett has leveraged his expertise to unlock the full potential of athletes. With a robust background in rehabilitative and sports performance training, he excels at keeping athletes healthy and primed for the growing demands of their sports. His passion for training ignited early as a multi-sport athlete with dreams of collegiate play—a curiosity that blossomed into a lifelong pursuit of athletic excellence.
Garrett’s dedication and hard work earned him a spot as a cornerback at Carthage College (Division III). After multiple concussions cut his playing career short, he shifted his focus to guiding others toward their athletic goals. Since stepping away from the field, Garrett has committed himself to developing athletes mentally and physically, preparing them for success both in and beyond their sport. His experience spans athletes of all levels, from adolescents to professionals in the NHL, NFL, MLB, and CHL.
Garrett’s approach is personal and precise. He digs into what motivates his athletes, defines clear goals, and designs tailored programs to meet their unique needs. His mission? To deliver sustainable, long-lasting results—empowering athletes to achieve peak performance, free from pain, while enhancing their overall quality of life.