Americus Travelers 2007 Coaching Staff

Travelers 17 & Under Head Coach - Tim Estes

Coach Estes enters his 13th season with the Travelers. He is the founder and head coach of this Nationally recognized program. Under his leadership, the team has won eight Georgia State Championships, appeared in seven National Tournaments and finished in the top five in the Nation on two occassions. He has seen over 30 former Travelers sign college baseball scholarships and four former Travelers ink professional baseball contracts.

As a player, Coach Estes was an All-State catcher for Americus High School. After graduating in 1987, he played on scholarship at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. He still holds the Georgia state record for most baserunners thrown out attempting to steal in a season with 21.

As a coach, he has coached on the youth, high school and summer elite levels, winning championships at each juncture along the way. He also spent two years as a "Bird Dog" scout in the San Fransisco Giants organization. Professionally, he is the Associate Director of the Americus Sumter County Parks and Recreation Authority (since 1994). He is responsible for all aspects of the County wide youth and adult athletic programs.

Coach Estes has been married to his wife Tammie for 14 years. They have two beautiful daughters; Lexie (age 8) and Ashleigh (age 5). He serves as a deacon at the Williams Road Church of Christ, where his family is an active part. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, playing golf and traveling with his family.


"I think the Americus Travelers Baseball program is one of the best things in Americus' history. We bring together kids from different schools and different areas of the Southwest Georgia region and many friendships and goodwill are developed. I'm proud of the fact that we have a record of hard-nosed, winning baseball, but at the same time people understand that we emphasize character over everything else. We want to help to develop quality young men that are good baseball players, and I think we are doing just that! I am honored to lead such a group and hope that my efforts will help these young men.
Coach Tim Estes


Travelers 17 & Under Assistant Coach - Chip Langston

Coach Langston enters his third year with the Travelers and serves as the pitching coach and first base coach. He is a 1984 graduate of Westfield School in Perry and a 1997 graduate of Georgia Southwestern State University with a Bachelors degree in Recreation. He played baseball at GSW under head coaches Wilkie Smith and Bill Haywood. He was a catcher / 1st Baseman and finished his career with a .324 batting average.

Coach Langston spent several years as an assistant coach of the Americus Post 2 American Legion team under his good friend Jeff Benton. In 1996, Langston became the teams Head Coach while Benton finished his Masters Degree.

Professionally, he is employed by Sumter Regional Hospital where he has worked for 19 years as a Senior Plant Operations Technician. He is married to the former Hope Hubbard and they have two children; a son; Walker age 11 and a daughter; Caroline age 7. Their family attends church at Bethel Baptist. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting and fishing, golf and coaching.

Coach Estes on Chip Langston: "Chip's track record speaks for itself. We've had no injuries for two straight years and our pitchers have been our strong point. He just has the knack for knowing who to put on the mound and when as well as when to go get them. He and I have worked really well together to rebuild this program. What most folks don't know is behind his tough exterior, he's a soft hearted guy who really cares about our kids. I'm glad to have him on our staff and count his baseball knowledge as a huge part of our success."

Travelers 17 & Under Assistant Coach - Jody Sellars

Jody enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Travelers. He has grown up in this system and was a top performer with the Travelers for several years. He is a 2006 graduate of Southland Academy and signed a baseball scholarship with Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. He plans to return to Americus and play at Georgia Southwestern next Fall. Jody's work will focus on hitting instruction and defensive positioning. He is the son of Marty and Becky Sellars of Americus. He also has an older brother, Todd, who played with the Travelers in the late 1990's.

Coach Estes on Jody Sellars - "I'm proud to have Jody join our staff. He understands how we do things because he grew up as a Traveler, so he'll be able to pass that along. He's young enough and has established himself enough that the players will respect his ability and this will be a good learning experience for him to separate himself as a coach. He will work a lot with our hitters and I'll use him to position our outfield defensively. This is the profession that he wants to work in and I think it'll be great experience for him. On top of that, it'll be good for us to have a young, energetic guy to push us to be better."



Webmaster: Ken Harrill

Ken Harrill of Odum, Georgia, first became aware of the Americus Travelers during the 1996 GRPA State Championship tournament in Statesboro, although the Travelers and Wayne County Major All Stars did not cross paths gamewise. As fate would have it, the two teams ended up battling it out for the GRPA State Championship just one year later. The result was a grueling 12 inning matchup with the Travelers coming out on top, 5-4. This matchup is still one of the most talked about in Travelers history.

Spending four days in Americus in July '97, Ken (who is better known by his nickname, "Moose") became impressed with the community and people and wanted to return to see more. Since December 1997, he has made Americus a second home. In the summer of 1998, Ken returned to Bell Stadium to watch the Travelers in action against the East Cobb Chargers. Americus was predicted to lose the double header, but managed a win in the initial match. Some credited the "Moose" as being the good luck charm that day - so much so he returned only a few weeks later for the Travelers first ever USSSA State Tournament, which they won undefeated. At that point, many feel Ken adopted the Travelers - but many admit, too, that the community adopted him. 1998 was also the year that the Americus Travelers website was launched. The 2007 season will mark his tenth as a member of the Travelers family.

Baseball is only one thing he enjoys. He likes walking, bowling, traveling, the beach, music, and friends. Ken is employed with Barber and Company/Dixie Outfitters in Odum as IT Specialist/Webmaster, a position he's held since November 2003. Prior to that, he worked with Experience Works and several temporary jobs. A 1981 Honor Graduate of Wayne County High School, Ken has earned an Associates Degree in Accounting from ICS Schools, plus five career diplomas in such areas as Internet Marketing.

In Ken's own words: "It's hard to believe I've been with this group as long as I have, but when you come away knowing you have great support and a real appreciation for your efforts as a webmaster - it's easy to want to be a part. When I think of the Travelers, I'm reminded that everyone has a spark of genius and when it's nurtured, only great results can happen. But when I look beyond the dugout and the diamond, I see them and their families as friends, and an extension of my own family. I came back to Americus because I wanted to. I've never looked back and have no regrets."