Americus Travelers Baseball Club
2016 16 and Under - Coaching Staff
#01, Head Coach - Tim Estes
Coach Tim Estes founded the Americus Travelers Baseball program in 1995 and has served as either the Head Coach or the Director of Baseball Operations in each of the past 21 seasons. He has spearheaded the program’s rise from a recreational program in 1995 to one of the nation’s elite today. His 2007 Travelers 17U team won the USSSA 17U Major World Series. In addition to winning the National Championship in 2007, Coach Estes has guided his 2013 team and 2015 team to the National Championship game, finishing as the runners up in both of those seasons. He has taken the Travelers to the World Series 14 times in the past 21 years and has finished in the top five nationally in five of those trips. He has been named the National Coach of the Year twice (2007 & 2013).
Coach Estes works as the Parks and Recreation Director for the Sumter County Board of Commissioners. He has served in this role for the past nine years. He was the assistant director for 13 years prior to becoming the director. He began his professional career with the Montgomery Parks and Recreation Department in Montgomery, Alabama serving as the stadium manager of Paterson Field and Cramton Bowl from 1990–1994. During the 1990 & 1991 seasons, he also served as a bird dog scout in the San Francisco Giants organization.
He has coached at the youth level, high school level and the elite travel levels during his coaching career. He was an All-State catcher at Americus High School, graduating in 1987. He played on scholarship at Faulkner University for Hall of Fame coach Tom Fletcher. Coach Estes has been married to his wife Tammie since August 1993. They have two daughters, Lexie and Ashleigh. The Estes attend the Oasis Church of Christ in Ellaville, where he alternates the preaching duties. In what little spare time he has to enjoy, Coach Estes likes to fish, travel to the North Georgia Mountains and the Florida Gulf Coast beaches.
#31, Assistant Coach - Jeff Fussell
Jeff Fussell enters his third season as the Americus Travelers assistant coach, working mainly with the hitters. He graduated from Americus High School, where he played baseball with the Panthers from 1976-1978. Fussell also holds degrees in advanced electronics from South Georgia Technical College and in applied science from Georgia Southwestern State University.
Coach Fussell is a Certified Youth Sports Administrator and is A.F.O certified to manage aquatic facilities. He is the Recreation Manager for the Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department.
Fussell has been a successful baseball coach for many years. His knowledge of the game and his ability to motivate young men makes him a valuable member of the Travelers staff.
Coach Fussell and his wife, Susie, have two children: Kate, a registered nurse in Columbus, and Adam, a program coordinator for Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency in Woodstock. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf. He and his family are members of St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Plains.
#09, Assistant Coach - Adam Fussell
Adam is the son of Jeff and Susie Fussell of Americus, GA. He has one sister, Kate. He graduated from Southland Academy in 2008, where he was very involved in the baseball program. Adam was named to the All-Region Baseball Team in both his Junior and Senior years and was named to the All-State Baseball Team his Senior year as well. He spent the summers of 2005-2007 playing with the Americus Travelers. The Travelers won the 2006 AAU State Championship, where Adam was named as an AAU All-American. The team also won the 2007 USSSA National Championship and he was named as a USSSA All-American and to the All-Tournament Team.
In the fall of 2007, Adam played for the 5-Tool Baseball Organization, where he was able to showcase at different colleges throughout the state. In the summer of 2008, he won an American Legion State Championship with Post 182 of Leesburg, GA. Adam signed a scholarship with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA and played a successful season in the spring of 2009. He transferred to Georgia Southern University, where he graduated with a degree in Recreation and Tourism Management with an emphasis area in Outdoor Recreation. Adam now works for Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency in Woodstock, GA as a program coordinator in the Athletics Division. In his spare time, he likes to play golf, go to the Falcons’ games, and enjoys the outdoors by kayaking, fishing, and taking camping and hiking trips.
