Coaches Bios

2021-2022 Assignments

David Lotti (16U National Lotti – Head Coach)

In a time when new travel organizations pop up with greater frequency each season, Coach Lotti and his Thunder organization have been around for over 22 years and remained true to the Northeast organization’s overarching principles: 1) teaching young athletes to be responsible and accountable in every facet of their lives, 2) to respect coaches, teammates, parents, the game and the opportunity the game can give prospective student athletes, 3) to give to the game of softball and the team the very best of themselves – whether it be parents, coaches or players – instilling work ethic, pride and a sense of team first. Over the span Thunder has seen our 2012 18U National team tied for 3rd at the prestigious Boulder IDT and the 2019 14U National team ranked 1st in the Northeast and 8th nationally. This past summer our 16u National team finished 5th at PGF Premier Nationals considered the top National event in the country and the 14u National team 17th. Rhode Island Thunder is considered the top program in the New England/Northeast corridor. Altogether, there have been over 1,000 young athletes coming through the RI Thunder program over the last 22 plus years. Says one current club coach: “Dave Lotti was meant to coach in the truest sense of the word. Dave is an ‘old school’ coach, straight shooting, extremely intelligent and precise about the game, and ready to capitalize in any game situation, possessing insatiable desire to compete and relentless in his pursuit of success.” One parent of a top player added: “Dave and RI Thunder have competed at the highest levels of travel ball and have done so largely with New England kids and without wholesale sponsorship. Dave doesn’t poach or try to create all-star teams from other kids’ and teams’ successes—it is home-grown. These kids come to practice not only to learn the game from but to learn how to best function as a team. Our teams have had success because they know each other, trust each other and function as a team vs. a collection of capable individuals.

Bob Rossi (16U National Lotti – Asst Coach)

Bob Rossi has been coaching Rhode Island Thunder softball for 17 years with Dave Lotti. He currently is an Asst. Coach on the Rhode Island Thunder Gold 16 U National Lotti team that finished 5th at PGF Nationals this summer. The highest finish by a Northeast Team ever. His duties include but not limited to working with catchers and being the recruiting coordinator for all Thunder Teams in the organization.

Dustin Brundage (18U National Lotti – Asst Coach)

Joey Wilson

Joey Wilson brings great energy and has a wealth of knowledge for the game. He has been coaching in the Thunder organization since 2010. Joey started off coaching a youth team at the 12u level. This team won numerous tournaments, two state championships and finished twice in the top 10 of the USSSA World Series. After coaching 12u, Joey moved up to coach a 14u team. They clenched a state championship and were the Connecticut state runner ups. Joey moved up to coach an 18u elite team where he was eventually promoted to the 18u gold team which was named after him. In 2015, the 18u Gold Wilson Team had a fifth place finish in the platinum division in PGF Nationals in California. Joey has a vast experience coaching both baseball and softball at the varsity level. He currently is the varsity softball assistant coach at Lincoln High School.

Becky Hall (18U Gold – Coach)

Becky Hall is the owner of The PiT, an instructor, and Pit Lady Nationals travel softball manager. Becky attended Southington High School (1989-1991) where she was part of the state championship team in 1990. She attended the University of New Haven on an athletic scholarship and was a starter for her four years of Division II softball. During her career at UNH, Becky received the NECC Rookie of the Year (1992) and All-NECC 1st Team honors (1992) and (1994). She holds career records for UNH softball in Most Runs Scored, Homeruns, Runs Batted In, Stolen Bases, and Walks. Becky has been active in youth softball in southeastern CT. She has coached in Waterford Little League for eight years as well as managed the Lyme-Old Lyme High School softball team for two. She managed the 2017 Waterford Little League All Star 12 year old team who won the CT State Championship and lost in the semi-finals of the Eastern Regionals in Bristol, CT. In addition, Becky established the CT Lady Nationals (now Pit Lady Nationals) travel softball team and has managed teams ranging from 8u-18U for the past seven years. Hall was an assistant coach for the CT Charmers 18U Gold Swanchak team from summer 2019-2020. From Fall 2020-Summer 2021, she was an assistant coach for the RI Thunder 16U National Lotti team who placed 5th (approx. 80 teams) in the 16U Premier Bracket play at the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) National Championship Tournament in Anaheim, CA. Currently, Becky is coaching the RI Thunder 18U National Lotti team. Prior to opening the PiT, Becky worked for LEARN at the Dual Language & Arts Magnet Middle School teaching English Language Arts to English language learners for seven years. In 2015, LEARN awarded Becky the Paraprofessional of the Year among its seven schools. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and a Minor in Chemistry. Becky resides in Waterford, CT with her two children, Jared and Maddie Burrows, and her husband, Tim Burrows.

Joe Coupal (16U National Lotti – Asst Coach)

Coaching Experience – 15+ years – Softball, Basketball, Baseball – ages 5-18. 10 years coaching club softball including the 2020-21 season with Rhode Island Thunder 14U National team (finished 17th at PGF National Premier). Previously, Dirt Dawgs (12U – 18U over 6 years) and also served as softball director for 3 years.
Previous Certifications – NCAA Certified Coach, ACE, PCA
Coaching Philosophy – teach and develop progression in all areas including gratitude, humility, respect, integrity, communications, competitiveness, Game IQ, and skills. “Be a better human being each day and compete at the highest level you can – Be the best you.”
Personal – Married with 4 children Interests – Coaching, Music, Technology, Fitness, Humor
Education – BSEE, MBA – URI
Professional – Owner of a Digital Marketing Agency (WSI PM)

Gabby Conca (18U Gold – Coach)

Coach Gabby Conca is an assistant coach for the 18U Gold – Wilson team. Coach Gabby has been a part of the Thunder organization since she was 13. She played for Coach Lotti most of her high school career. She then went on to St. John’s University to play in the Big East Conference where she was an outfielder. She coached for Scituate High School this past Spring season, and could not be more excited be back a part of the Thunder community.

Alyssa McCoart

Alyssa McCoart joins the coaching staff for Rhode Island Thunder Gold. She has been coaching softball for the past 6 years and previously coached in the New England Phoenix Organization. In addition to coaching travel softball, she is currently the head varsity coach at Lincoln High School in Rhode Island. As a player, Alyssa played in the Rhode Island Thunder organization prior to playing in college at Central Connecticut State University. Alyssa graduated with a bachelors degree in Physical Education and teaches in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Holly Kathios (14U National – Head Coach)

Holly is a Thunder alum (’15) and graduated from Salve Regina University (’19). At Salve Regina she played softball and was a captain during her senior season and was also a member of the CCC All-Conference team as a catcher. Her senior season, she batted .306 with only one strikeout in 111 at-bats garnering national recognition in D3 in the category of “Toughest to Strike-Out”, where she was ranked #7 in the country. Defensively, Holly committed 2 errors in 218 possible chances. Holly has been coaching with the RI Thunder since graduating from college and spent her last season coaching the 18U RI Thunder Gold Lotti.

Charli Bradshaw (14U National – Head Coach)

Charli is a 2013 Rhode Island Thunder alum and a graduate of Jacksonville University (2016). Awarded A-Sun All-Conference honors in her freshman season and NFCA All Academic honors, she led the team in batting avg, OBP, and slg% in both seasons. She left after her second season to pursue a career in the U.S. Navy. In addition to playing 8 years of travel softball with the Firecracker Fury (Jim Hardy), Polar Crush, and the RI Thunder, Charli has a 13 year history coaching competitive catchers, all over the U.S., with The Catching Camp. After leaving the Navy as an Officer, Charli now works as a Medical Assistant while pursuing her Physician’s Assistant degree.

Nicole Venturini (16U Gold Regional – Head Coach)

Nicole Venturini joins the Rhode Island Thunder Gold organization in her first year as a coach for the Wilson team. She played on New England Phoenix Gold for three years before moving onto Post University. Nicole played at Post for one year before transferring to Rhode Island College where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and completed her softball career. Now, Nicole works as a veterans disability paralegal.

Kim Camara-Harvey (18U Premier Camara – Head Coach)

Current head coach at Johnson & Wales University. 20 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including stints at UNC-Wilmington, Drexel University and Webster University. Instructor and speaker at camps and clinics throughout the country.

Terry Chartier (18U Premier Chartier – Head Coach)

Completely dedicated to the progression of my athletes. With over 40 years of baseball /FP softball playing and coaching experience, I combine the familiarities of successfully reaching the personal goal of maximizing my own athletic scholarship during the collegiate recruitment process, and stress the importance of discipline , determination, and perseverance. With these lessons of importance, I try to mold today’s athletes into confident and productive adults.

John Gniadek (14U Gold (2nd) – Head Coach)

John is in his second year as a head coach with the Thunder organization. His first year was spent building a new 12U Team from scratch. The team followed the Thunder playbook of building success through focusing on fundamentals and creating a team first environment. The team is moving up to 14U for the 2021-2022 season. John has several years of coaching baseball and basketball at both AAU and high school levels. Professionally, John is the SVP of Customer Operations for Connected2Fiber.