Baseball Staff

Meet your Hayner Academy/ Sports Barn Baseball Staff

  • Norm Hayner (Co-Owner)

    Specializes in hitting, pitching, Catching

    • Norm currently coaches the Barnstormers 15u Travel Baseball Team.
    • Varsity Baseball Coach at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake H.S. 1995 - 2000.  Led Spartans to 1998 Section II Class A title, Region IV title and runner up finish at NY State final four.
    • Former Pitching Coach at UMass/Amherst, Siena College, Skidmore College and Schenectady C.C.
    • Division I catcher and graduate of Siena College ('85).
    • Earned M.S. in Sport Management at UMass/Amherst ('92)
    •  Former Player/Manager of Apex Printing in Albany Twilight League, achieving 3 consecutive league championships, 3 NYS AABC Stan Musial Division Titles, 1 AABC North Atlantic Regional Championship and 2 runner ups and a 3rd place finish at the 1989 Stan Musial World Series in Battle Creek, Michigan.
    •  Member of the Shenendehowa Athletic Hall of Fame and Albany Twilight League Hall of Fame


  • Ken Hayner (Co-Owner)


    • Since 2014, Ken has been the Director of the Hayner Academy Barnstormers Travel Baseball Program.
    • Head Baseball Coach at Hartwick College 1988 - 1998.  Was named Empire Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1993.  Received Louisville Slugger Coaching Award in 1994.  Led '94 team to NCAA New York Regional Tournament.  '92, '94 and '96 teams captured ECAC Upstate New York Championship.
    • Served as Assistant Coach at Siena College '84, '85, '87 and UMass/Amherst. '86.
    • In 1982 played professionally as a shortstop for the Utica Blue Sox of the New York-Penn League and received NY-Penn League's Achievement Award for development.
    • Former Division I player and graduate of Siena College '82. 
    • Received M.S. in Sport Management from UMass/Amherst in '87.
    • Member of the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame, Siena College Sports HOF, Shenendehowa Athletic HOF and Albany Twilight League HOF.



  • Kyle wilkins

    specializes in hitting, fielding and pitching

    • Kyle served as the Head Coach at The College of St. Rose  from 2014 - 2016.  Kyle was an assistant coach at St. Rose from 2012 - 2014.
    • Served as hitting coach for the Amsterdam Mohawks in the Perfect Game League in 2010 and 2011 helping them win the PG League Championship in 2010.
    • From 2004 - 2007, Kyle served as an assistant coach at Ithaca College helping the Bombers appear in four straight NCAA Regional Tournaments.
    • Kyle was a four year starting infielder at Ithaca College.  He was also team captain and was honored as 2003 Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year.
    • Kyle holds a bachelor's degree in athletic communications from Ithaca and a master's in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University at Irvine (CA).

  • Joey Laurer

    Specializes in Pitching

    • Played 4 years of Division I baseball at Siena College as a pitcher.
    • Graduated in 2024 with a degree in Business Analytics and Finance.
    • 60eraguy on Social Media (160K+ Followers)
    • Acted as a player coach for the Siena Pitching Staff
    • 2020 graduate of Saratoga Springs High School
    • All-Section for Baseball, Career 0.53 ERA
    • All-State for Swimming with a school record (100 yard Breaststroke)

  • Bill Kelts

    Specializes in Hitting, pitching and fielding

    • Bill has been a highly successful coach in the Waterford Nationals program for 15 years.
    • Bill played college baseball at SUNY New Paltz where he was a NCAA Division III All American.  Bill also achieved 1st team ALL SUNYAC and 1st team All Region.
    • Before transferring to SUNY New Paltz, Bill was a two year starter for HVCC and earned 1st team All Region III his sophomore year.
    • Bill played varsity baseball for CBA  and was named 1st team All Big 10 and 1st team All Section 2 in his senior year.
    • In November 2024 Bill was inducted in the Albany Twilight League Hall of Fame.  Over a 15 year career Bill finished with a .336 career batting average and is top 25 all time in home runs and RBI's.

  • Armando Ricci

    Specializes in Pitching and Hitting

    • Armando is currently serving as the Assistant Pitching Coach at Hudson Valley Community College. 
    • Armando was a pitcher at Siena College in the 2021-2022 season before an arm injury curtailed his career.  He is currently finishing his degree at UAlbany.
    • Armando played for Shaker High School and graduated in 2021.
    • Posted a 0.75 ERA in his sophomore year of high school. 
    • Starting and winning pitcher during the NCYBA championship game against Albany in 2018 pitching 6 shutout innings to lead his team to the regionals.

  • Josh Hayner

    specializes in Hitting and fielding

    • Josh Hayner is a 2019 graduate of Messiah College.  
    • At Messiah, Josh was named MAC  - All Conference First Team second baseman his junior year after posting a .393 average and Honorable Mention his senior year after posting a .348 average.  
    • A 2015 graduate of Shenendehowa, Josh was named Suburban Council Second Team All-Star as a junior and Second Team Shortstop as a senior.
    • 2015 Josh was named Shenendehowa Offensive Player of the Year after posting a .452 average.  Josh finished his 2 year varsity career with a .436 career average.
    • Josh joined the Hayner Academy Staff in September '19.  He is available for lessons Nov - March.

  • Carson Dunkel

    Specializes in hitting, catching, pitching, fielding

    • Carson is currently the Head Coach of the Barnstormers 14u team.
    • Carson played four years of Division I baseball at Siena and UAlbany as a catcher and graduated with a degree in Communications.
    • Carson played in our Barnstormers Travel Program for three years.  In July of 2018 Carson's walk off 8th inning double knocked in the winning run in the Barnstormers 5-4 victory over Team Nokona in the championship game of the Boston Open leading the Barnstormers to a perfect 7-0 record.
    • Carson is a 2018 graduate of Schuylerville High School.  Carson was two-time Albany Times Union Small School Catcher First Team All-Star and Times Union First Team Defensive Back in football.
    • Carson is available for hitting, catching, pitching and fielding lessons.

  • Anthony Ruzzo

    Specializes in Hitting, Fielding and Pitching

    • Anthony is a 2024 graduate of Union College where he majored mechanical engineering.
    • Anthony played four years of college baseball for the Dutchmen.
    • Anthony was a 4 year varsity baseball player at Schalmont HS and 2 year captain.
    • In his junior year, Anthony was named First Team Colonial Council shortstop and was selected to the 518 Futures Game.
    • Anthony played four years for our Barnstormers Travel Program.  In 2021 he hit .350 with 4 triples out of the #3 spot in the order