Alum Collins wants ‘refuse to lose’ effort from Shakamak Lakers

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

In its storied baseball history, Shakamak Junior/Senior High School in Jasonville, Ind., has appeared in an IHSAA state championship game eight times.
Dylan Collins was on three of those teams — 2012, 2014 and 2015. The Lakers reigned over Class 1A in 2014.
Collins played catcher his first two varsity seasons, second baseman as a junior and shortstop as a senior. He was in the 2-hole in 2012 and at the top of his team’s batting order in the 2014 and 2015.
His head coach for the first three seasons was Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Chip Sweet. Todd Gambill took over the program after Sweet’s retirement.
“Coach Sweet was an all-around good guy,” says Collins. “We looked up to him as a father figure. He was very well-respected and we wanted to win for him.
“We had only one year with Coach Gambill. He was energetic. He knew what he was getting and we produced for him.”
Collins played two seasons at Vincennes (Ind.) University for Chris Barney and one at Purdue Northwest for Dave Griffin.
“(Barney) wanted me from the first time he saw me,” says Collins. “He told you how it was and lived up to the promise.
“(Griffin) was an honest guy and fun to play for.”
Collins came back home to work at Jasonville Utilities and joined the Shakamak baseball coaching staff.
After three seasons as junior varsity coach, Collins was named last week as head coach.
As a product of a program that has has won 27 sectional titles (the last two in 2021 and 2022) with state championships in 2008 and 2014 and runner-up finishes in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2021, Collins knows that expectations are high in the Shakamak community.
“That’s what drives me to do what I do,” says Collins. “That’s the fun part of it.”
Every time Collins comes to Shakamak on-campus diamond he recalls the Laker legacy.
“It’s all the history there,” says Collins. “I remember 2004 and one of the first state runs. My brother (Class of 2006’s Derek Collins) was on the team. I was young and running around.
“There are so many memories.”
Collins’s 2023 coaching staff features Class of 2015’s Jake Walters and pitching coach Braxton Yeryar and Jason Pegg (Bloomfield alum) with previous head coach Jeremy Yeryar (Shakamak of Class of 1993) also helping out.
Braxton Yeryar was Collins’ teammate at Shakamak and a teammate and roommate at Vincennes U.
As the man in charge, Collins wants his Lakers to “refuse to lose” and play with confidence.
Among returnees from a 2022 team that went 16-14 is Indiana Wesleyan University commit and senior Brady Yeryar (.559 with seven home runs and 34 runs batted in as a junior).
Ethan Burdette (Class of 2021) is now at VU.
Shakamak (enrollment around 200) is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Bloomfield, Clay City, Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, North Central of Farmsburg, North Daviess and White River Valley).
SWIAC teams meet each other one time.
The Lakers are part of an IHSAA Class 1A sectional grouping in 2023 with Bloomfield, Clay City, Dugger Union, North Central (Farmersburg) and White River Valley.
Shakamak is to open the 2023 season March 31 at Jasper.
There was weight training and conditioning for the Lakers during the fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period. Collins says hitting and other activities will take after the Christmas break.
Shakamak has a junior high baseball team of seventh and eighth graders which play on the high school diamond in the spring. Another feeder is the Shakamak Youth League (T-ball through majors).
Collins and girlfriend Bailey Scott have a 4-month son named Kooper Collins. Dylan’s parents are Jeff and Denise Collins. Jeff Collins (Shakamak Class of 1983) played for head coach Herschel Allen and once held batting records for the Lakers. Brooke Griffith (Class of 2007) is the sister to Dylan and Derek.

Jonathan Miller (left), Dylan Collins and Jeff Gambill.

Dylan Collins, Bailey Scott and their son Kooper Collins.

Dylan Collins (front) is surrounded by brother Derek Collins (left), mother Denise Collins, father Jeff Collins and sister Brooke Griffith.

Advertisement

Reynolds, Dugger Union Bulldogs eager for 2022 season

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Creating confidence is major goal for Phillip Reynolds as head baseball coach for Dugger (Ind.) Union Junior/Senior High School.
“I don’t focus on the X’s and O’s as much as some coaches do,” says Reynolds, who has been in charge of the Bulldogs program since just before the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 after a season as an assistant coach. “I buy into my players and give them the tools to build themselves. If they don’t believe in themselves it doesn’t matter.
“We’re getting kids to step out of their comfort zone. They’re going through skill training and learning how to move their feet. We’re showing them they can hit a baseball. We’re building from the ground up here.”
Dugger Union won three games in 2021. That’s the highest total in years.
“All of my boys are excited to be back and go again (for 2022),” says Reynolds, who hopes to have around around 21 players for a varsity-only schedule this spring. “The boys are really starting to buy into the program. Three years ago we had just 11 kids.”
Dugger was formerly in the Northeast School Corporation of Sullivan County. In December 2013, NESC voted to close Union High School and Dugger Elementary. The school became a Grace College-affiliated charter school and operates as Dugger Union Community Schools. There are about 200 students in the top four grades.
“Dugger has come a long way from where it used to be,” says Reynolds. “The administration pushes the students to be the best they can be.”
The 2022 season will mark the last of the Bulldogs’ probation from IHSAA tournament play.
Located about 25 miles from the Indiana-Illinois State Line, Dugger Union holds membership in athletic conferences in both states — the Southern Roads Conference (with Cannelton, Columbus Christian, Christian Academy of Madison, Lighthouse Christian Academy of Bloomington, Medora, Pleasant View Christian of Montgomery and Seven Oaks Classical of Ellettsville) in Indiana and the Little Okaw Valley Conference (with Martinsville, Oblong-Palestine-Hutsonville and Red Hill) in Illinois. In the SRC, only Dugger Union, Cannelton and Columbus Christian currently have baseball.
Reynolds was born in Texas and moved around as an “U.S. Army brat.” He played Little League while living in Oklahoma. The 2001 graduate of nearby Linton-Stockton High School retired after a 12 1/2-year hitch in the Army — which include time in Georgia where he was a Little League coach — and is a substitute teacher at Dugger Union. The father of four from a previous marriage also enjoys hunting and fishing.
Phillip’s wife Joanie (who has a daughter living at home) is an assistant coach. He is looking to recruit more help.
The Bulldogs play on a field a half mile from the school. It is a community-shared field with a skinned infield.
“It is very, very fast,” says Reynolds. “We understand our field. I tell them at away games (on grass infields) it’s not going to come to them as fast as it is on our field.”
A local youth league goes to age 12.
“The last two years we were getting freshmen that haven’t played in a couple years,” says Reynolds. “I think we have enough for an actual junior high team this year.
“It’s baby steps.”
Dugger Union is scheduled to open the season March 29 against visiting Martinsville (Ill.). The Bulldogs have been invited to return to a tournament hosted by Evansville Bosse May 21.
In between, there are scheduled dates with Bosse, Cannelton, Cloverdale, Columbus Christian, Crothersville, Eastern Greene, Greencastle, Lawrenceville (Ill.), North Central (Farmersburg), North Vermillion, Oblong, Red Hill, Robinson, Shoals, Vincennes Rivet and Wood Memorial.

Dugger Union Bulldogs.

Dugger (Ind.) Union Junior/Senior High School head baseball coach Phillip Reynolds (left) talks to Andrew Smith and Jacob Brewer. (Laina Stringer Photography)

The 2021 Phillip Reynolds-coached Dugger (Ind.) Union Junior/Senior High School baseball team. (Laina Stringer Photography)

Kutch, North Central Thunderbirds enjoy competition

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Joe Kutch has long taken a leadership role in youth sports in and around Sullivan County, Ind.
Kutch (pronounced Kootch) is entering his eighth season as head baseball coach at North Central Junior/Senior High School in Farmersburg.
He was junior high coach for about five years before taking over the varsity Thunderbirds.
After years as an assistant, Kutch became North Central’s head football coach midway through the 2021 season. The Thunderbirds won their two sectional football titles with Kutch on the staff — 2018 as defensive coordinator and 2021 as head coach/offensive coordinator.
COVID-19 hit Kutch the first week of September and he was in the Intensive Care Unit for nine days and missed three football games. He is still on oxygen. But he still coaches, teaches Automotive classes at North Central (through a co-op with Ivy Tech in Terre Haute) and works for Sullivan Auto Group.
The Nashville (Tenn.) Auto-Diesel College graduate got his teacher’s license through Ball State University and began teaching eight years ago.
Kutch is an alum of Terre Haute North Vigo High School (Class of 1988). While still in high school he started organizing non-high school athletics.
As an adult, Kutch once ran the Northeast Youth League, Tri-Towers Softball League (which once had 500 players and was a pilot site for Major League Baseball’s Pitch, Hit & Run contest) and is still on the board of the Southwest Youth Football League (formerly Quad County).
Joe and Dianna Kutch have been married 28 years and have two sons — Austin Kutch (North Central Class of 2014) and Brayden Kutch (Class of 2017). Both played football and baseball for the Thunderbirds and graduated from college (Austin from Indiana State University and Brayden from Indiana University).
North Central (enrollment around 260) is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Bloomfield, Clay City, Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, North Daviess, Shakamak and White River Valley) for baseball and basketball.
Eastern Greene and Linton-Stockton have been IHSAA Class 2A schools on the diamond. Shakamak was a 1A state runner-up in 2021.
“I like the competition,” says Kutch, 52. “We take our sports serious. We compete every year in every sport.”
In 2021, the Thunderbirds were part of a Class 1A sectional grouping with Bloomfield, Clay City, Eminence, Shakamak and White River Valley (the 2021 host). North Central has won eight sectional titles — the last in 2011.
During the IHSAA Limited Contact Period, North Central has 26 athletes who have indicated that they plan to play baseball in the spring.
“Most of my key players are playing basketball, like six of the starting nine,” says Kutch. “(Our numbers) will will drop when we get to mandatory practice (March 14).”
Kutch, pitching coach Andy Fuson and hitting coach Brian Raber make up the current Thunderbirds staff. A few volunteers when official preseason practice begins.
The Thunderbirds play home games on-campus. A ball over the right field fence could reach U.S. 41.
A few years ago, infield dirt was upgraded. The facility has a grass infield with brick dust running lanes. About a decade, a brick press box was installed.
The high school shares the field with the independent junior high program.
“You need junior high baseball,” says Kutch. “You need a feeder system to keep your program going.”
Connor Strain, a 2012 North Central graduate, pitched at the University of Evansville and in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system.

North Central Thunderbirds.

Head coach Joe Kutch (left) and the North Central Thunderbirds.

Joe and Dianna Kutch.

Joe Kutch (foreground) with wife Dianna and sons Austin and Brayden.

Harden keeping it positive with Linton-Stockton Miners

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Accountability, positivity, a spirt of competition and excellence are qualities Jacob Harden is looking to instill as the new head baseball coach at Linton-Stockton High School in Indiana’s Greene County.
“I’m big on holding (players) accountable,” says Harden, who was hired to lead the Miners program in July. “I’ll be the first one to get on their tail when they’re doing something wrong, but I’ll be the first one to build them back up. All the coaches I’ve been around cared and still held me to realistic standards.
“Positives need to outweigh the negatives.”
Harden, who is also a Project Lead The Way computer science teacher at Linton-Stockton Middle School, had players conditioning shortly after the school year began and led players in grades 7-12 during the IHSAA Limited Contact Period in the fall and since the first week of December.
“I want to be the program coach,” says Harden, 25. “I don’t want players to meet me for the first time when they’re freshmen.”
Besides the middle school program for seventh and eighth graders, the Linton Youth League (T-ball though Grade 6) feeds the high school Miners.
Recent graduates moving on to college ball are 2021 graduates Josh Pyne and Kip Fougerousse (son of former Linton-Stockton head coach Matt Fougerousse) to Indiana University.
Bracey Breneman (Class of 2022) recently signed with Vincennes (Ind.) University.
Harden did his best in the fall to simulate what spring practices will be like with position group work followed by team activity.
He set the tone from Day 1.
“I set the standard for how I expect things to go,” says Harden. “I mean business. I want us to win state championships. That means working hard.
“We’re doing something every minute of our practices and everybody is going to get better.”
Harden has players trying to beat one another in cut-off and bunt drills.
“Scoop Tennis” — which promotes quick hands and feet and proper glove work — is both fun and competitive.
“When guys compete with everything they do that’s going to transfer over to the game,” says Harden. “You want to be be a competitor and find ways to win.
“It’s a competitive atmosphere and we’re paying attention to the fine details.”
Fall World Series teams vied for the “Folger’s Cup” — an old coffee can found in a dugout. There’s also social media salutes to the “Grinder of the Week” complete with honoree pictured with a coal miner cap.
Linton-Stockton baseball embraces the hashtag #PreparingForReign.
“Everybody want to be the best they can be, but who’s going to prepare?,” says Harden, who also has his team breaking huddles with a chant of “618.” What’s significant about that number? June 18, 2022 is the date of the IHSAA State Finals at Victory Field in Indianapolis and that’s where the Miners want to be — #Destination618.
Harden wants “The Miner Way” to be personified by players who are gritty with good attitudes.
“It embodies what this town is all about,” says Harden. “These people have to work for a living. That’s how this community is.
“These guys are starting to believe they can do it.”
Linton-Stockton’s new uniforms will feature “MH” on the right shoulder to honor baseball backer Mark Hollingsworth, who died at the beginning of the school year.
While he’s not on his staff, Harden has got plenty of support from former Miners head coach Bart Berns.
Linton-Stockton (enrollment around 390) is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Bloomfield, Clay City, Eastern Greene, North Central of Farmersburg, North Daviess, Shakamak and White River Valley).
In 2021, the Miners were part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Eastern Greene, Mitchell, North Knox, Paoli and South Knox and beat North Knox 10-0 in the championship game. Linton-Stockton has won 10 sectional titles.
Harden’s assistants are Mike Walters, Craig House and Brian Reel. Walters was a Harden teammate at Northview High School in Brazil, Ind. House is a longtime Linton-Stockton coach who is employed as a coal miner. Reel is the father of Indiana University Southeast head baseball coach Ben Reel.
Harden graduated from Northview in 2015. Besides playing Knights head coaches Scott McDonald (2012 and 2013) and Craig Trout (2014 and 2015), he was in the Clay Youth League and was in travel ball as a middle schooler with the Indiana Redbirds and American Legion Baseball for Clinton Post 140 the summer before his senior year and Clay County Post 2 the summer after graduation.
He played for Ben Reel at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany in the spring of 2016 and went back that fall.
“I had a lot going on,” says Harden. “My grandpa passed away late that fall and one thing led to another.
“I was led to step away and come back closer to home.”
Harden, who is the son of Brazil’s Mark and Jaime Harden and older brother of sister Kennady Harden (now 19 and an Indiana State freshman) transferred to Vincennes U.
“Coach (Chris) Barney took a chance on me,” says Harden, who went in as a walk-on in the fall of 2017 and left in the spring of 2018 as a scholarship player.
He became a 4-2-4 player (four-year school, two-year school and four-year school) when he went to Indiana State University in Terre Haute, where Sycamores head coach Mitch Hannahs convinced him it was not worth the risk since Harden had open heart surgery at 16 in 2013 and he was a student manager the rest of the first semester for an ISU team that went on to win a Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship in 2019.
Trout invited Harden to be an assistant at Northview and he helped at the varsity and junior varsity levels in 2019 and leading up to the COVID-19-canceled 2020 season.
“I’d always known I wanted to coach,” says Harden. “That was the first time I got to put my imprint on something.”
In 2021, Harden was an assistant to longtime Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology coach Jeff Jenkins in what turned out to be Jenkins’ final season at the Terre Haute school.
Harden assisted manager A.J. Reed of the summer collegiate Prospect League’s Terre Haute (Ind.) Rex in the summer and was on a bus heading to Champion City (Springfield, Ohio) when he got the call from Linton-Stockton asking him to join the Miners.
We got to grow real close together,” says Harden of Reed. “He was fighting very hard for me. I got great references and guys on the team pulling for me. It felt so good.
“I’ve met a lot of people along the way. I can’t think of too many 25-year-olds has the network I do. I’ve got to learn some much. It’s been a chaotic journey. But you have to have some chaos to get that goal accomplished.”
The holder of an associate degree in General Studies from Vincennes and degree in Sports Management from Indiana State, Harden is working toward certification through the Indiana Teachers of Tomorrow program. This semester, his PLTW class is creating apps. Next semester, it will be computer science for innovators and makers.
“It gives kids a moment to shine,” says Harden of the STEM students. “It makes them feel good.”

Jacob Harden (Terre Haute Rex/Brian Williams Photo)

Jacob Harden instructs Linton-Stockton baseball players.

Linton-Stockton Miners with the “Folger’s Cup” at the Fall World Series.

Linton-Stockton Miners aiming at “Destination618 — the IHSAA State Finals on June 18, 2022.

Former Indiana University player McConnell leading baseball program at Barr-Reeve

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

A former Indiana University baseball player is sharing his experience and knowledge as head coach at Barr-Reeve Middle/High School in the tiny Daviess County town of Montgomery.
Trevor McConnell, who graduated from Bloomington (Ind.) High School South in 2005 and earned his IU degree in December 2008, enjoyed his first on-field season with Barr-Reeve in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic took away 2020. He was an assistant to Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Joe Rademacher during the 2019 season.
Before Barr-Reeve, McConnell spent five seasons as an assistant to Bloomington South head coach Phil Kluesner (2014-18) and five as head coach and athletic director at Eastern Greene (2009-13).
A center fielder in high school, McConnell played for IHSBCA Hall of Famer Grier Werner at Bloomington South and was recruited to play at IU by Bob Morgan.
“(Werner) was an old-school guy,” says McConnell. “He had that football mentality. He wanted physical and mental toughness from his teams and pushed us to take on that mentality because baseball is a game of failure.”
By the time McConnell joined the Hoosiers, Tracy Smith was head coach. He saw action in 65 games from 2006-08 and counted future big leaguer Josh Phegley as a teammate. Michael Earley went on to be a college coach (he’s now at Texas A&M).
“I learned a ton from Coach Smith in my time around the IU program,” says McConnell, who picked up pointers in practice planning, strategy and all facets of running a baseball team. “(Werner and Smith) are responsible for molding my coaching mindset more than anybody.”
McConnell sustained a career-ending arm injury and served as a volunteer assistant to Smith in the fall of 2008.
By then, McConnell saw his path as a teacher and coach and took the job the Eastern Greene positions at 23.
McConnell played summer ball for Kluesner with the Bloomington Wizards and accepted an invitation to coach with him.
“He welcomed me with open arms,” says McConnell of Kluesner. “He’s one of my best friends.”
At Barr-Reeve, McConnell teaches junior high school education and has a coaching staff that features pitching coach Rademacher, varsity assistant/infield coach Nathan Lester and head junior varsity coach Joe Cummings. All three have been head coaches at the high school level — Rademacher in two stints at Barr-Reeve, Lester at Barr-Reeve and Cummings at Pike Central.
There’s also JV assistant Ryan Graber, who played for Rademacher and Lester, former Vincennes Lincoln and University of Southern Indiana national championship player Craig Heinz, Beau Sluder, Trevor Yoder and Kraig Knepp. Chris Winkler runs Barr-Reeve’s junior high baseball program (Grades 7 and 8).
“I appreciate having experienced guys with me in the dugout,” says McConnell, who works with Vikings hitters and outfielders. “I have no ego. Joe Rademacher has been a good mentor for me. He’s been super gracious.
“He told me has still has a fire for the game and would like to be around if you want me.”
The Vikings play on Joe Rademacher Field. An old agriculture building was recently converted into a hitting/training facility for Barr-Reeve baseball and softball.
“We have four full-length (batting) cages,” says McConnell. “We are spoiled.”
A T-ball league is hosted by Barr-Reeve. Coach Pitch leagues start at Chuck Harmon Little League in nearby Washington, Ind.
The Viking Baseball Club sponsors teams of local students from second grade through 12U.
“They play together as a group with ‘Barr Reeve’ across their chest,” says McConnell, who attends and runs some VBC practices in the winter to show players the way he does it at the high school. A three-week fall camp for Grades 2-6 ran by McConnell and his assistants and players just concluded.
An IHSAA Limited Contact Period goes from Aug. 30-Oct. 16. Starting after Labor Day, McConnell has been leading close to 20 baseball players two days a week. Those practices are on Mondays and Wednesdays and many also participate in basketball activities with Josh Thompson on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thompson guided Barr-Reeve to an IHSAA Class 1A state championship in 2020-21 and a state runner-up finished in 2018-19.
“I like the fact we can instruct and be more hands-on with our players,” says McConnell of the current off-season set-up. “There’s less quantity but the quality is a lot better.
“We can coach them up.”
Barr-Reeve (enrollment around 250) is a member of the Blue Chip Conference (with Loogootee, North Knox, Northeast Dubois, Shoals, South Knox, Vincennes Rivet, Washington Catholic and Wood Memorial). In recent years, Washington Catholic has not fielded a baseball team.
In 2001, the Vikings were part of a Class 1A sectional grouping with Loogootee, North Daviess (host site), Shoals and Vincennes Rivet. Barr-Reeve has won 12 sectional titles — the last in 2019 — Rademacher’s last season as head coach. A senior on that ’19 team — Gage Wilson — went on to Vincennes (Ind.) University for baseball.
The youngest child of former college football coach Bob McConnell and wife Barbara, Trevor was born in Amherst, Mass., when his father was on the staff at the University of Massachusetts.
About the time Trevor went into kindergarten, his family (including older brother Ryan) had moved to Nashville with Bob McConnell joining the football staff at Vanderbilt University.
From 1995-2001, the McConnells were in Baton Rouge, La., and Bob was coaching at Lousiana State University.
Trevor McConnell’s freshmen baseball season was spent as a varsity role player at Parkview Baptist High School, where Eagles head coach and Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee M.L. Woodruff was on the way to one of his 11 state championships. His 27-season record was 603-163-2.
“I learned a lot of fundamentals,” says McConnell of Woodruff. “He was super-organized and super-efficient.”
The McConnells wound up in Bloomington when Bob was hired by Hoosiers head football coach Gerry DiNardo, who also coached at Vandy and LSU.
After years of the gypsy lifestyle of a college football coach, Bob McConnell went into financial services and retired last fall. Barbara McConnell is a Muncie, Ind., native. Ryan McConnell (38) resides in Baton Rouge.
Trevor (35) and wife Jessica both went to Bloomington South and began dating at IU. They have been married since 2009. The couple have two children — second grader Nolan (who turns 8 in October) and kindergartener Lauren (5).

The McConnells (from left): Jessica, Trevor, Nolan and Lauren.

The McConnells (clockwise from upper left): Trevor, Jessica, Nolan and Lauren.

Trevor (left) and Ryan McConnell.

Trevor McConnell (30).

Trevor McConnell directs traffic.

Trevor McConnell swings the fungo.

Hannon builds relationships with Paoli Rams baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Aaron Hannon was drawn to coaching because of the coach-player relationship.

Hannon enjoyed that as a baseball catcher at John Adams High School‘ in South Bend, Ind., with head coaches Joel Reinebold (now at South Bend Clay) and Scott Sherry (now at Whiteland) and assistant John Huemmer (now at Mishawaka).

“They built that relationship with me,” says Hannon, who is heading into his sixth season as head baseball coach at Paoli (Ind.) High School  in Orange County and is also the defensive coordinator for Rams football. “All three are examples of people who are building people and not just players.

“They took the time to develop kids.”

Hannon played football at Hanover (Ind.) College for Wayne Perry, a man who took the same approach to coaching. 

“He found it just as important to mentor and mold young men and as make football players,” says Hannon. “I respect him and everything he did for me.”

Hannon, who graduated from Adams in 2001 and Hanover in 2005, is emphasizing fundamentals with his Paoli baseball players while building a sense of trust.

“If you can’t do the basic things it’s going to be difficult,” says Hannon. “When we build those relationships, I can ask things of them and they are willing to go the extra mile.

“When they are comfortable, they can have conversation with you that they can’t have when you keep kids at a distance.”

Hannon wants his young athletes to discover the reason for doing things in a certain way.

“Why are we doing this?,” says Hannon. “We have to understand the why.

“The fun part as a coach is seeing the kids take ownership once they understand what’s going on. It’s not just adults pulling the strings.”

Hannon is assisted in 2021 by Springs Valley Junior-Senior High School graduate Chris Meehan and Forest Park Junior-Senior High School alum Jaxon Cronin.

“As coaches, we don’t take things for granted,” says Hannon. “We don’t assume the kid knows something. I think the kids appreciate that.

“We want to make sure we’re all on the same page and in the same flow.”

Hannon wants his players to shoot him straight and he returns the favor.

“You have to be honest,” says Hannon. “Kids respect honesty.”

The same concepts — honesty and communication — are at work for Hannon as a fifth grade math teacher at Throop Elementary in Paoli.

“Feedback is huge,” says Hannon. “Kids can tell you things you had no idea was going on.

“It’s just important for me to listen to what that kid is saying.”

Paoli (enrollment around 430) is a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Mitchell‘, Orleans, Perry Central, Springs Valley and West Washington).

The Rams are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, Mitchell (the 2021 host), North Knox and South Knox‘. Paoli has won eight sectional crowns — the last in 1995.

Aside from conference and sectional games, the Rams are slated to play Eastern (Pekin), Scottsburg, Shoals, Northeast Dubois, Brownstown Central, Henryville, Lanesville, North Harrison and Cannelton. The Rams are to take part in the May 15 Les Page Classic at Loogootee (which also features Princeton Community and Tecumseh).

Paoli play its home games on a lighted on-campus diamond called Trinkle Field. It is named in honor of Ken Trinkle, a Paoli native who pitched for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1940’s and served as a corporal in the U.S. Army during World War II.

The high school program is fed by seventh and eighth graders who play and practice in the spring on Trinkle Field.

Paoli Youth Diamond Sports serves players age 4 through sixth grade at Paoli Community Park.

With Hannon coaching football and many athletes involved in football, cross country and tennis in the fall, most off-season baseball team activities started after Christmas break.

Of 23 players in the program, one is a senior. With COVID-19 taking away the 2020 season, the last time three of those players appeared in a varsity game was as freshmen in 2019.

“We’ll have lots of competition and varying lineups to see what are best combination is,” says Hannon. “I’m excited. It’s been very fun group to worth with so far.”

Seven seniors graduated in 2020, including current Indiana Tech reserve squad player Aron Busick. 

Aaron and wife Terri Hannon have four children — Michael (17), Tyler (13), Kalyn (11) and Beau (3). Michael Hannon is currently on the Paoli track team. Tyler Hannon plays junior high baseball. Kalyn is involved in elementary volleyball and then goes to youth softball. Beau Hannon is enjoying being a part of it all.

Aaron and Paoli graduate Terri met at Hanover, where she was on the softball team. 

Aaron and wife Terri Hannon have four children — Michael (17), Tyler (13), Kalyn (11) and Beau (3). Michael Hannon is currently on the Paoli track team. Tyler Hannon plays junior high baseball. Kalyn is involved in elementary volleyball and then goes to youth softball. Beau Hannon is enjoying being a part of it all.

Aaron and 1999 Paoli graduate Terri met at Hanover, where she was on the softball team. 

Aaron Hannon (Paoli baseball coach)

Arthur anxious to get going with Eastern Greene Thunderbirds

NOTE: This story was posted a week before the death of Owen Valley coach Ryan Wilcoxen. He passed of a brain injury Feb. 25 at age 31. Schools all over the state lit up their fields in his honor.

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Wesley Arthur peeks at his calendar and sees April 5 , 2021 as a special day.

That’s when the first-year head baseball coach at Eastern Greene High School near Bloomfield, Ind., is scheduled to coach his first game.

The Thunderbirds are slated to visit Owen Valley in Spencer, Ind. The Patriots are led by Eastern Greene alum Ryan Wilcoxen.

Arthur is a 2013 graduate of Owen Valley, where he played football for Duane Potts and baseball for Brian Greene. He was an OV assistant on the gridiron for Potts and helped on the diamond with Greene, Brad Garrison and Wilcoxen.

A corner infielder and designated hitter as a high school baseball player, Arthur also excelled in football as a lineman and received college interest in that sport.

Arthur opted to pursue an associate degree at Ivy Tech in Bloomington, Ind., and go into sales while beginning his coaching career.

He enjoys getting out on the field with his young athletes, creating a game plan and the chess match with the opposing players and coaches.

“I like to see what my kids can do and put them in the right place to be successful,” says Arthur.

Greene was the one that gave Arthur the opportunity to be a coach and both have shared time guiding players in baseball and football.

“We’re still really close,” says Arthur. “I consider him a close friend. He’s a mentor to me.

“We bounce ideas off each other.”

Besides high school assistant, Arthur has also been a head coach at the 12U and 13U levels for the Columbus-based Demand Command travel baseball organization.

Arthur, 26, is eager to make an impact on Eastern Greene baseball.

“We want to instill some continuity,” says Arthur. “We’ll probably have a younger roster.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic taking away the 2020 season, Arthur says he will have essentially two freshmen groups (Class of 2023 and Class of 2024) that will be new to high school baseball. 

“We look to get our culture set,” says Arthur, who has seen some players during open gyms but not an entire group with many playing basketball and the school using a hybrid in-person class schedule (one half the student body comes two days and the other half comes two days). “We’ll look for upperclassmen with high school experience to be leaders.

“We’ll do what it takes to grind out some wins. We’ll be growing our baseball I.Q. We may take some lumps along the way.”

Arthur, who is assisted by Casey Bybee, hopes to have enough players for a junior varsity schedule.

“We want to grow the program and have fun,” says Arthur. “We want to keep the kids excited.”

Located a mile from Cincinnati, Ind., and 152 miles from Cincinnati, Ohio, Eastern Greene (enrollment around 300) is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Bloomfield, Clay City, Linton-Stockton, North Central of Farmersburg, North Daviess, Shakamak and White River Valley).

The Thunderbirds are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Linton-Stockton, Mitchell, North Knox, Paoli and South Knox. Eastern Greene has won five sectional crowns — the last in 2013.

Home games for the Thunderbirds are played on a field next to Eastern Greene Middle School and just over a mile down S.R. 54 from the high school.

“It’s been there forever,” says Arthur. “I think it looks nice.”

The field has dirt base paths leading from home plate and a “key hole” from the mound to the plate. Though its more work to maintain, Arthur appreciates the look it creates.

The middle school has seventh and eighth grade baseball teams.

At the younger ages, there is an Eastern Greene Youth Baseball with multiple teams in 8U, 10U and 12U divisions. A separate Thunder Travel baseball program sends players in those age groups out to take on teams around Greene County and the surrounding area.

“I want to build that chemistry and get it started early,” says Arthur of youngsters playing together who will eventually play at EGHS. “We want to get that momentum going.”

Thomas Wesley Arthur is the oldest of Tommy and Tina Arthur’s five children. Wesley’s four younger sisters are Tristany, Tori, Tiana and Teagan.

Wesley Arthur was an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater — Owen Valley High School in Spencer, Ind.

Wesley Arthur has coached football at Owen Valley High School in Spencer, Ind.

Wesley Arthur has coached with the Demand Command travel ball organization based in Columbus, Ind.

Wesley Arthur is the head baseball coach at Eastern Greene High School near Bloomfield, Ind.

Holtsclaw looking to lift Bloomfield Cardinals baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jarrod Holtsclaw has been around Greene County, Ind., baseball all his life and he would like to see Bloomfield Junior/Senior High School return to the diamond glory.

Holtsclaw, who was recently named as the Cardinals head coach, is a 1991 Bloomfield graduate and recalls the competitive teams of the past. In the pre-IHSAA class days, the Cards went to Bedford for the sectional.

These days, Bloomfield is part of a Class 1A sectional grouping with Clay City, Eminence, North Central (Farmersburg), Shakamak and White River Valley. The Cardinals’ two sectional titles came in 1970 and 1971.

Bloomfield (enrollment around 250) is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Conference (with Clay City, Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, North Central of Farmersburg, North Daviess, Shakamak and White River Valley).

Non-conference foes in 2019 were Cloverdale, Edgewood, Eminence, Jasper, Loogootee, Mitchell, Northeast Dubois, North Knox, Owen Valley, Riverton Parke, Shoals, South Central (Elizabeth), South Knox, Vincennes Rivet and Washington.

“We’ll have our work cut out for us,” says Holtsclaw. “But we want to get back to playing good, solid baseball.”

Holtsclaw has coached travel ball with the Washington-based Bombers, in the Bloomfield youth league (which spans from T-ball to major league) and, the past couple of springs, with the junior high program at Bloomfield. It was started a few years ago as an independent organization by Shane Evans and is now affiliated with Bloomfield School District.

The coach notes that it’s important that the gap between major league and high school is filled to build and keep some kind of momentum for the sport.

“We have to keep as many kids involved in baseball as possible,” says Holtsclaw.

Some years, there have been enough sixth, seventh and eighth graders for an A and B squad. Last year, there was just an A team playing games between April and early June on the high school field and high school rules.

“We want to get them used to expectations of the high school kids,” says Holtsclaw.

What about the Cardinals’ home facility?

“It’s a quirky little field,” says Holtsclaw. “It has fairly short dimensions. The school property ends at the right field fence.”

The right field fence has been raised and there is talk of raising it again.

“Maybe we can sell sponsorships and have our own Red Monster in right?,” says Holtsclaw.

After IHSAA Limited Contact Practice this fall, the school plans to put down new sod and refresh the dugouts. On the wish list is also the expansion of batting cages and an upgraded sound system.

Being a small school, sharing of athletes is a must at Bloomfield. This fall, Holtsclaw has had 16 athletes come to voluntary baseball workouts. Of that number, 14 are in one or more fall sports.

“Time on the diamond is so limited,” says Holtsclaw. “But we can work on defense and arm strength.”

Pitching and defense will be a priority for the Cardinals on Holtsclaw’s watch.

“That will keep you in every ball game,” says Holtsclaw. “Over the years here, we’ve had struggles developing enough pitchers.”

The coach says he approves any steps the IHSAA will take to assist in arm care and development.

“They could give us a little more time to get kids’ arms ready to go,” says Holtsclaw.

With one spot yet to be filled on his coaching staff, Holtsclaw counts Mike Sherrard and Bill McIntosh as Bloomfield assistants for 2019-20.

Holding undergraduate (1995) and law degrees (1998) from Indiana University, Holtsclaw became a deputy prosecutor in Greene County in 1998 and has been the county’s elected prosecutor for the past 13 years.

Jarrod Holtsclaw is the new head baseball coach at Bloomfield (Ind.) Junior/Senior High School. He is a Bloomfield graduate.

 

Chaney wants school, community to be proud of Mitchell Bluejackets baseball

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Jerry Chaney has been the head baseball coach at Mitchell (Ind.) Senior High School for nine seasons.

He has general goals for the Lawrence County-based Bluejackets — on and off the field.

“My main focus is to turn boys into men that our school and community can be proud of,” says Chaney, who teaches Business, coaches junior varsity girls basketball and is the Students Against Drunk Driving director at MHS. “I want to teach them the fundamentals of baseball and what it takes to become a successful program.”

In 2019, there were 22 playing baseball for MHS. Feeding the Bluejackets at the high school level is a junior high program with about 16 players.

While there are no current players yet committed to play college baseball, Mitchell graduate Tanner Simpson is a left-handed pitcher at Marian University in Indianapolis.

Mitchell calls Gary Seitzinger Field home. The facility was a sectional host site a year ago.

“Our field is well taken care of, and our staff continually works on it,” says Chaney. “We are looking into a turf home plate area, an outside hitting facility and improving areas in front of dugouts.”

Seitzinger and Logan Gore are Chaney assistants.

Chaney is a 1985 Bedford (Ind.) North Lawrence High School graduate. He played for Mike Short while with the Stars and tries to apply lessons he learned with his players.

“Mike was a gentleman off and on the field,” says Chaney. “He was very organized and cared about us.”

After high school, Chaney played catcher at Oakland City (Ind.) University, where he received his B.A. degree in education. He holds a masters of education from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Chaney was a varsity baseball assistant at BNL for 13 seasons, serving primarily as the hitting coach. He has also been head baseball coach at Eastern Greene High School in Bloomfield, Ind.

Mitchell (enrollment around 475) is a member of the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (with Crawford County, Orleans, Paoli, Perry Central, Springs Valley and West Washington) and plays home and away games against each league team.

Last season’s non-conference opponents for Mitchell have included Bloomfield, Brownstown Central, Corydon Central, Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, Loogootee, Salem, Scottsburg and Shoals.

The Bluejackets are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, North Knox, Paoli and South Knox. Mitchell has won 10 sectional crowns — the last in 2006.

Jerry and Sonya Chaney have been married for 13 years and have five children.

Jerry Chaney has been head baseball coach at Mitchell (Ind.) Senior High School for nine seasons.

 

McNabb, North Daviess Cougars enjoy community support

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Steven McNabb learned much about baseball while playing for and coaching with an Indiana High School Baseball Hall of Famer and he tries to bring that to his role as head coach at North Daviess Junior/Senior High School in Elnora, Ind.

McNabb was a catcher at Shakamak Junior/Senior High School, where he played his first three seasons for Hall of Famer Chip Sweet. The coach’s oldest son, Josh, is one of Steven’s best friends.

After competing for Matt Fougerousse in his senior year and reaching the IHSAA State Finals for the third time (2004, 2006, 2007), McNabb played one season at Oakland City (Ind.) University and one at Olney (Ill.) Central College before receiving his degree at Indiana State University and joining Sweet’s coaching staff as junior varsity coach (2010-14) in his second stint at Shakamak.

“He is definitely my mentor and role model,” says McNabb of Sweet. “A lot of my style is like what his was.

“I can’t say enough about what he meant to my playing career and my coaching career. I’m super close with his whole family.”

McNabb says Sweet was not a screamer and yeller, but demanded much of his players. He was a disciplinarian when he needed to be there with tough love.

“We was ultra-competitive and that oozed through,” says McNabb. “He treated everybody as part of the team, regardless of ability level.”

Fougerousse is now head coach at Linton-Stockton. He and McNabb talk frequently about diamond matters.

North Daviess (enrollment around 300) is a member of the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference (with Bloomfield, Clay City, Eastern Greene, Linton-Stockton, North Central of Farmersburg, Shakamak and White River Valley).

The 2019 season was McNabb’s fifth in charge of the North Daviess program.

The Cougars are part of an IHSAA Class 1A sectional grouping with Barr-Reeve, Loogootee, Shoals and Vincennes Rivet. North Daviess has won seven sectional crowns — the last in 2015. The Cougars were North Daviess Sectional runners-up to Barr-Reeve in 2019.

Being in such close proximity to one another, there is a fierce three-headed rivalry between North Daviess, Barr-Reeve and Loogootee.

“The community really takes off with it,” says McNabb.

His first ND team won the 2015 Loogootee Sectional. A senior on that squad — Logan Wagler — went on to play a season at Bethel College (now Bethel University).

The Class of 2019 had three players moving on to college baseball programs — Shom Berry to Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky., honorable mention all-stater Landon Mokris to Greenville (Ill.) University and Tyler Dunbar to Hanover (Ind.) College.

McNabb’s coaching staff in 2020 will include local minister Ashley Shurtz, former North Daviess and Oakland City University player Lucas Swartzentruber and North Daviess teacher John Mullen.

Matt Sims, McNabb’s cousin and a Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Athletic Hall of Famer (baseball), was the Cougars pitching coach the past five seasons. Mullen moves up from the junior high staff and takes over those duties.

Sims works at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, located less than 20 miles east of North Daviess.

For eight years, McNabb has been his school’s Project Lead The Way teacher, providing instruction in computer science, robotics, electronics and CAD 3D modeling, which helps prepare students for a career at Crane.

North Daviess plays baseball on Wayne Davis Field. The facility is part of a baseball/softball/tennis complex which was established in 2004. The baseball diamond is fairly large in dimension (330 feet down the lines and 380 to center).

An indoor hitting facility shared with softball helps the Cougars get better even when the weather does not cooperate.

Feeding the high school are the Frank Roberts Youth League in Odon and a junior high program. McNabb just had a call-out meeting for seventh and eighth graders that drew more than 20 players.

“Numbers at the (youth league) are always high,” says McNabb. “Baseball is something people get behind. I have a lot of support.

“It’s a great place to be.”

Steven and Amanda McNabb have been married nearly four years. They reside in Bloomington.

The 2015 IHSAA sectional baseball champions from North Daviess High School.

North Daviess High School head baseball coach Steven McNabb stands with Class 1A honorable mention all-staters Shom Berry (left) and Brandon Craven (right).

Steven McNabb (left) and Caleb Wagler share a moment on North Daviess High School’s Wayne Davis Field.

Steven McNabb, a graduate of Shakamak High School and Indiana State University, enters his sixth season as head baseball coach at North Daviess High School in Elnora, Ind., in 2020.