1227 Ridgeway Avenue, Suite D, Rochester NY 14615
Meet Our Staff
High-Level Experience. Intentional Development.
David Wessells
Owner, Director of Hitting
David's true passion and focus is Player Development. As an under-recruited high school athlete with limited instruction, David arrived to college realizing he was far behind in terms of his development, especially as a hitter. This caused him to truly deep dive the swing, different hitting methods, and how his swing compared to the best in the world. Through this research, David was able to reconstruct his swing and saw his production go through the roof at college. He was a 4-Time 1st Team All-Empire 8 player, a 3-Time All-Region player, and the Houghton University career leader in hits, walks, runs, on-base percentage, stolen bases and total bases.
At the end of his playing career, David discovered his passion was to be the hitting coach and mentor he needed. In 2023 he launched Zeal Hitting Development to be the vessel to live out his passion. An environment where athletes can have the instruction, programming, and guidance to reach their goals.
Why Train with David
Professional Guidance: Over the past 5+ years, David has worked with & consulted some of the best hitters in the sport, from MLB, MiLB, KBO, and other professional leagues.
Personally Mentored: David is lucky to be mentored by some of the best hitting minds in the game, including 2023 World Series Champion and Current Baltimore Orioles Coach, Donnie Ecker. His dedication to learning provides a holistic approach to hitting.
Training Methods & Hitting Program: The year-round hitting program that David has created is like nothing you will find around the Rochester, NY area. It is a program proven and tested to help you see results in-game.
Eric Krowl
Sports Performance Coach
Eric is a Rochester, NY native and graduated Pittsford Mendon High School. He previously trained at Zeal, working with David Wessells throughout his High School and College Baseball career. He graduated John Carroll University with a degree in Exercise Science, with Minors in Psychology and Sports Leadership. He spent the 2025 Season Interning with the Cleveland Guardians Sports Science Team.
Between his own baseball career, studies at John Carroll, as well as his time interning with the Cleveland Guardians Sport Science team, Eric has a true passion for athletic development. He looks forward to bringing a pro-style performance system to Zeal. This system goes beyond traditional strength training. Through movement screening, force/velocity profiling, data based programming, and constant collaboration with Dave about your swing, everything is tailored to have you feeling reactive, creative, and powerful on the field.
Why Train with Eric
Professional Experience: Spent the 2025 Season working with the Sports Science staff with the Cleveland Guardians (MLB/MiLB). During this time he advised Strength & Conditioning programming, performed physical testing, and monitored player workload for their Minor Leaguers.
Assessment Methods: Eric has brought the Player Performance & Health assessment process he learned with the Guardians to Zeal. We use the same VALD systems used by MLB Organizations. This allows us to identify areas of need for athletes and a plan to improve those areas.
Holistic Approach: He doesn't care if you can win a powerlifting contest—He cares about enhancing the strides YOU want to make as an athlete. The focus is improving power, coordination, mobility, reactivity, and strength, and the mental capacity to access it in competition.
Testimonials
"Dave is a great problem solver. He really understands the swing, but more importantly, he is great at finding what is best for each hitter. He always helps me get locked in and understand what I need to execute in the box."
DELINO DESHIELDS JR.
7 Year MLB Veteran
"The way that Dave communicates the swing is what stands out to me. He always helps me get locked in during the offseason and also refine my swing throughout the season. I know I can always rely at him to look at my swings and find solutions for me. The guy is a beast!"
MAX BURT
Detroit Tigers Organization
"Dave is very committed to his athletes at Zeal. The amount of gains I've made over the years are insane. He has instilled a ton of confidence in me to go out and perform. Working with him year round in-house or remotely when I'm at school has been a gamechanger."
NATE HALL
OF, Houghton University
"David is the hitting master! 5 years ago He helped me overhaul my swing from both sides at the plate and help me drive the ball better with more backspin. He got me back to the consistent power numbers I had earlier in my Minor League career. I get so excited to work with Dave every offseason before my Professional Season. He is the best!
KENNYS VARGAS
Former MLB, Current Mexico League All-Star
"David is a great communicator and has a great way of making complex ideas sound simple. He is great at building a plan around my individual needs. It's great to know he's just a call or text away during the season."
JAKE CAVE
Former MLB Veteran, Current Mexican League Star
"Training with Coach Dave at Zeal has completely transformed my career. I've gained muscle, gotten so much stronger, increased my exit velocity & bat speed, and just have become an overall better baseball player. Coach is a mentor that I know I can always go to for anything."
KAYDEN YAPJOCO
C, Finger Lakes CC
"Working with David over the years has been awesome. He will do anything to help you achieve your goals and make you better. Even when I am not at the facility training, I know I can reach out if I'm struggling and he will always respond and help me."
REID MARTIN
OF, SUNY Cortland
"Training remotely with David this offseason was the best you can get. His knowledge and ability to make small adjustments for big results has been impactful. I needed someone to work together with this offseason and it's been a great investment into my game."
NIK MCCLAUGHRY
San Diego Padres Organization
Join the NEW Standard when it comes to Hitting Development in Rochester, NY.
Whether you become a member, join one of our development teams, or just want an evaluation, Learn how ZEAL is the place to see RESULTS.