Our Team

Brendan Sullivan

Brendan was a four-year varsity player at St. Albans School ('93) where he was three-time All-Interstate Athletic Conference; two-time Washington Post First Team All-Met ['92-'93], and the 1993 Gatorade Circle of Champions Player of the Year for Washington, D.C. He attended Stanford University, graduating in 1996. While a member of the Cardinal, Brendan participated in three NCAA regional tournaments and the 1995 College World Series, leading the team in saves and appearances during his sophomore season.

Also in 1995 Brendan was selected Relie ver of the Year in the Cape Cod Summer League. Drafted in the 26th round in 1996, Brendan signed with the San Diego Padres. He played minor league baseball for 5 years and was promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars his last two seasons.

Brendan is the Executive Director of Headfirst Sports. He directs Headfirst’s National Honor Roll Academic Showcase Camps and coordinates the Headfirst Gamers, a Washington, DC based developmental and select baseball program for ages 8 thru 18. In 2004, Brendan was named a National Double-Goal Coach of The Year award winner, presented by the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). In 2007, the Headfirst Gamers were named Organization of the Year by the Washington, D.C. Home Plate Club.

• Check out Brendan and Headfirst Sports featured on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace
• Read Brendan's blog, Ahead in the Count

Rob Elwood

Rob is a graduate of St. Albans School ('92) where he lettered in four varsity sports, set a single-game record as a pass receiver as well as honors as an All-Interstate Athletic Conference pitcher.

After graduating from STA, Rob went on to play baseball and football at Amherst College in Massachusetts. He earned baseball Rookie of the Year honors his freshman year and continued to lead the Lord Jeffs as a two-year team captain.

Rob was also awarded the team's Most Valuable Player award his junior season and helped Amherst win their first NCAA bid to the Division III tournament. After graduating in 1996, Rob was named the prestigious Amherst College Hitchcock Fellow, awarded to the student-athlete excelling both in the classroom and on the playing fields. The fellowship allowed Rob to coach football, basketball and baseball at Amherst College, all while pursuing his Masters degree in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts @ Amherst. Before joining Headfirst Baseball, Rob worked in the scouting and player development front offices of the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians. Rob is Headfirst's Director of Summer Camps and Program Development and has recently developed the Headfirst Mentoring Program, an academic tutoring service designed to help students organize and excel to their fullest potential.

Justin Cronk

Justin is a graduate of Amherst College where he played both football and baseball. As a senior in 1997, Cronk helped lead Amherst baseball to a #1 ranking in New England and a #7 division III national ranking with a batting average over .400.

In 1998, Justin earned his Masters Degree in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts while simultaneously acting as a teaching assistant for Sports Law, an arbitration consultant for the Boston Red Sox, and an assistant coach for hitters/infielders at Amherst.

Justin then went on to serve one year as the Recruiting Coordinator and assistant coach for Boston College where he coached outfielders and hitters. In 2000, Justin went to UNC-Asheville as the Recruiting Coordinator/Head Assistant Coach before a 3-year stint as the Head Coach of Shenandoah University in Virginia.

After coaching college baseball for 6 years, Justin joined the Baseball Factory in 2003 as the Baseball Operations Coordinator and College Relations Director. Justin is Assistant General Manager of the Headfirst Gamers Baseball Team program, Assistant Director of Headfirst’s Honor Roll Camps and the Director of the Headfirst College Advisory Team (HCAT).

• Learn more about HCAT at www.playheadfirstincollege.com

John Bramlette

John Bramlette grew up in New York City and he attended Riverdale Country School where he lettered in baseball, basketball and soccer. After graduating, he attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where he played baseball. John was a two-year starter and was named Most Improved Player during his senior season in 2000. While at Haverford, John worked in the Haverford College Admissions Office as a Host and Senior Interviewer. John moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 2002 to attend law school at GWU. Shortly thereafter, John began coaching Headfirst Gamers Select teams. John continued coaching our oldest Gamers Select groups during his time in law school, and while serving as a litigation associate at Nixon Peabody LLP in Washington. In 2008, John left his legal practice to join Headfirst full-time, where he oversees many of our programs, most prominently the Headfirst College Advisory Team (HCAT). Most recently, John served as the Head Coach of our 16U Gamers team during the summer of 2008, and will coach our 18U Black team in 2009.

• Read John's blog, Ahead in the Count

Ted Sullivan

Ted was a two-time All-Interstate Athletic Conference selection at St. Albans in Washington D.C as a pitcher and third baseman. He attended Duke University, where he was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Team each of his four years there. His 31 appearances out of the pen his senior year were the second most in school history and earned him Duke's Fireman of the Year Award, given to the team's best relief pitcher.

Ted graduated Cum Laude in 1999 and was drafted in the 37th round by the Cleveland Indians that June. He spent his first professional season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the New York Penn League (short season single-A).

After begining the 2000 season back with the Scrappers, Ted was promoted on June 27 and became a member of the Columbus Redstixx of the full season single A South Atlantic League. After 6 weeks in the Sally League, Ted was moved up again on August 14 and spent the last three weeks of the 2000 season as a member of the Kinston (NC) Indians of the high single A Carolina League.Ted was released by the Indians in October of 2000 and retired after two years of professional baseball.

In 2001,Ted transitioned to a part-time management role for Headfirst and moved to Cleveland, Ohio were he was a Managing Director for Fins Denim, LLC. After three years at Fins, Ted attended Harvard Business School, graduating in June of 2006. He then moved to New York City, taking a Business Development and Marketing role at Rave Wireless, Inc.

Today Ted is working on a start-up venture of his own called Fungo Media, Inc. The company's product, GameChanger, offers a suite of mobile applications and online tools that collect and distribute real-time play-by-play content for youth and high school sports.