Wild Bill Sports Staff

Max "Skip" Eckert
PRESIDENT + HEAD COACH

Max Eckert is the founder of Wild Bill Sports and serves as the Director of Development for Mclean Little League, and assistant coach with the Takoma Thunderbirds (collegiate summer baseball team in the Clark Griffith Collegiate Baseball League). Max's collegiate career began at Potomac State, where after battling injuries and setbacks, was able to re-engage his career at Stevenson University. In 2008 he was a Clark Griffith All Star and 1st team all league. That summer he tied Mark Teixeira for the most RBI's in a game with 8, hitting two grand slams in that game. At Stevenson, he was selected as 2009 MVP and broke the single season and career home-run record. Upon graduating with a degree in Marketing and Social Sciences, he pursued his professional baseball career in the Golden Baseball League with the Calgary Vipers, which ended at the completion of Spring Training. Shortly thereafter, Max founded Wild Bill in 2016 in memory of his late father, an avid life-long Orioles fan and the person who inspired me to pursue coaching full-time. His extensive playing experience, behavioral education background, and 10+ years of full-time coaching, fuels his passion for teaching baseball skills both for on-field performance and as a metaphor for life.

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Mike Straub
Vice President + Head Coach + Private Instructor

Coach Mike is a former professional baseball player who has been coaching for 10+ years.  He has been with Wild Bill for 5 years acting as a pitching coordinator, private instructor, head coach and now in addition, vice president.  After his college playing career at the University of Mary Washington where he earned All-Conference honors, he played two years professionally in the Pecos League.  After weighing options of continuing pro ball in Australia or finding a “real job” in the DMV area, the real job won out.  Mike stayed very much involved in coaching while working as an accountant.  Recently, Coach Mike stepped away from coaching for one season and QUICKLY realized how much he missed coaching.  The brief time away made it clear how much baseball and coaching are an integral part of who he is.  So much so that Mike quit his corporate job in September 2021 and has been a full-time member of the Wild Bill team since!  Coach Mike brings his passion for the game of baseball to Wild Bill.  More importantly, he brings a passion for player development, wanting to help all Wild Bill players improve and hone their skills to help them achieve their baseball goals!  When Coach Mike is not on a baseball field you can either find him at his Shirlington condo with his fiancée Candace and their two cats, or on a local golf course trying to hit them straight.  Through Mike’s playing, coaching, and even umpiring experience he brings a ton of baseball knowledge to the Wild Bill program.  He is eager to teach and make Wild Bill the best travel experience and program in the DMV.  Go Wild Bill!

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BOBBY LAIRD
​​Administrative Director + Head Coach + Private Instructor

Bobby has been with the Wild Bill program since inception in 2016. He is a graduate of McLean High School in 2017 and Christopher Newport University in 2021 with a degree in information science. He played travel ball for Max when he was in high school, and currently plays for the Falls Church Mustangs of the Industrial Baseball League, where he plays catcher, infield, and a bit of outfield. With Wild Bill, he specializes in teaching catching, hitting, and infield. He brings energy to the field, and really values building relationships with the players and coaches. He will be a co-head coach for the 12u team this spring, but he will also help with all other age groups, specifically with the 13u and 14u teams.

Wild Bill Sports Coaches

Coach Jorge Arrate
Head Coach + Private Instructor

​Jorge joined the Wild Bill Sports coaching staff during the summer of 2019. Prior to that, Jorge played for two years at Potomac State College of West Virginia. In addition, in the summer of 2018, Jorge took an internship to work for the sports performance department at Georgetown University. He would transfer to George Mason University to continue his undergraduate studies in Kinesiology. Jorge’s baseball journey of successes, failures, and injuries has taught him many lessons and helped him generate a holistic approach to developing and helping players. This approach stems from teaching fundamentals, building relationships, player development, and much more. 
 
Jorge is currently the head coach for the 11u VA and 13u DC teams. He also has a big hand in practices for all age groups. His best skillsets revolve around the infield and hitting aspects of the game. 

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Coach Bryan Contino
Assistant Coach + Private Instructor

Coach Bryan has been coaching for Wild Bill since 2018. Bryan played 3 seasons of Varsity Baseball for Dumont HS in New Jersey where he won a State Sectional Championship as a Junior in 2011. His junior season he earned All-Conference Pitcher and in his Senior season he earned All-Conference Utility Player. Bryan went on to play D3 Baseball at McDaniel College in Maryland as a Pitcher and began to volunteer as an assistant coach in the summers for a local high school. It was then that he knew he wanted a career in coaching.  When Bryan is not coaching, he is attempting to watch every second of Tampa Bay Rays’ games and teaching Special Ed at Manassas Park HS in VA.

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Coach Will French
Assistant Coach

​Coach Will has been coaching with Wild Bill for 4 years.  Originally from Alexandria, Will grew up playing baseball in McLean Little League.  Coach Will played for McLean HS all four years.  Will played for 5 years with the Bradley Eagles, while Max was with program.  Coach Will is a huge Pittsburgh Pirates fan but an even bigger Shohei Ohtani fan. Will currently is the assistant coach for Wild Bill’s 11u DC team and 13u DC, as well as being a practice coach for all of our teams.