Coaches

Jerry Manuel was born on December 23, 1953 in Georgia. An outstanding student-athlete in high school, he carried fond memories of  his father Lorenzo playing Negro League pickup games and pitching with the greats.

Following his father’s athletic footsteps at eighteen, and 220 full scholarship offers to play football, basketball or baseball across the nation, Jerry was the #1 pick of the Detroit Tigers and signed as a professional.

He has earned top honors over his MLB career. He is married to his high school sweetheart Renette, wife of 39 years. They have four beautiful adult children; Angela, Jerry Jr., Anthony and Natalie, and seven growing grandchildren.

Anthony Manuel is one of the premier baseball instructors in the country bringing a wealth of knowledge to the diamond.

After an accomplished college career, Anthony was drafted by the Mets in 2005. After a 5 year pro career, he is now dedicated to giving back to the game as one of the most in-demand coaches in Northern California.

Anthony brings knowledge, experience, and energy to the field teaching players the intricacies of the game at the highest level. He currently is Head of Baseball Operations at JMF, the first Academy/Charter School bringing urban American youths back into the game. He is the son of former MLB Manager Jerry Manuel and has two young children Malachi & Namora.

J.J. Sherill is a well traveled professional instructor with 14 years of professional baseball playing experience bringing a wealth of knowledge to JMF.

 Sherill was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 23rd round of the 1998 MLB Draft. He played in the Indians organization until 2005 before moving on to independent ranks in 2006 where he established a productive career before later taking on a player-coach role for the Newark Bears in the Canadian American Baseball Association.

J.J. Is one of the most sought after instructors in California and is a valued instructor and coach in the JMF Baseball Program.

Josh Johnson is a respected pitching coach in the greater Sacramento area, working with travel ball teams, coaches and players across the city.

He spent his first collegiate years at Sonoma State University where he competed in the 2010 Goodwill Series in Sydney Australia, representing his university. He later transferred to American River College where he competed before transferring to William Jessup University where he began his junior season, before ending the 2015 season early after receiving Tommy John Surgery. He has continued his baseball career as a coach and now works with pitchers of all ages.

Josh has a B.A. in Psychology with a focus on sport and exercise psychology from WJU. As an experienced college player, and now coach, Josh has a lot of experience and an understanding of the throwing arm, the mental game, returning from injury, baseball philosophy, and still has a close connection to the game. 

Harvey Hargrove played high school baseball at Cordova High School and then went on to play at Sacramento State on a full ride scholarship. He was a shortstop and pitcher during his playing career before professional baseball. He graduated from Cordova in 1994 and played his last year at Sac State in 1997. He currently holds the single season record there for home runs in a season with 26. He was inducted into the hall of fame at both Cordova High School and Sacramento State.

Harvey was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 6th round of the amateur draft in 1997 and he spent four years playing in their minor league system as a centerfielder, while also spending time in the infield. He played two seasons independently after four years in the Mariners organization to finish his playing career.

Harvey has been coaching since January of 2017. He has spent time with Show California, Best Speed Baseball where he currently coaches a 14u team and has also coached his own teams (Sacramento Hawks and Seek1st Soldiers) for two years preparing them for high school baseball before joining the Jerry Manuel Foundation. Harvey has a passion for developing ball players and helping them navigate the mental part of the game.

Steve Friend is an experienced professional baseball instructor with 5 years professional playing experience bringing a wealth of knowledge to JMF.

After an accomplished NCAA collegiate career ending at The College of Charleston, SC. in 2004, Friend began a 5 year pro career in the Independent ranks after being drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2002 MLB Draft just two years earlier. He has instructed for national baseball academies in the Mid-West and is one of the most sought after instructors from the Chicago Area.

Steve concurrently works as the Web & Marketing Manager for JMF while also directing branding and creative communication initiatives to promote black youth participation within the game.

He is a long time friend and former college roommate/teammate of Anthony.