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An investment has been made in the future of baseball at Western Boone Junior/Senior High School in Thorntown, Ind., and Michael Nance is part of it.
After coaching travel ball in the community, in the junior high program that feeds the high school and helping at the high school level, Nance was hired in July 2021 to guide the Webo Stars.
The junior high team has players in Grades 6-8 and plays 12 to 14 games in the spring.
Nance reached out to Western Boone Little League and a partnership was formed. The Western Boone Baseball Club offers instruction on Sundays to players age 9 to 12 not involved in travel ball.
“It’s an opportunity to get these kids more baseball reps all year,” says Nance.
Out of that came 12U and 10U club teams that offer additional games to the Little League schedule.
Knowing his current players and what’s in the pipeline, Nance is upbeat in leading a program which produced five varsity victories in 2019 and four in 2021.
“I think we can win,” says Nance. “I’m very excited about the next six or eight years from what I can see coming.”
Western Boone’s four seniors are Casey Baird, Will Barta, Evan Hine and Mitch Miller.
Baird, who has committed to Franklin (Ind.) College for football, will be called on to play multiple positions, including shortstop, second base, catcher and relief pitcher. Barta is a designated hitter. Georgetown (Ky.) College-bound Evan Hine (.325 average with a team-best .509 on-base percentage in 2021) is a third baseman. Miller, who led the Stars with .349 average last season, is a center fielder and lead-off hitter.
There’s also junior first baseman Andrew Foster, sophomore left-handed pitcher/right fielder Jackson Grimes, sophomore right-hander/left fielder Luke Jackson, sophomore righty/shortstop Bryce Kopriva, sophomore catcher and clean-up hitter Cole Wiley and freshman second baseman Gavin Hawkins.
Nance labels Kopriva, Jackson and Grimes as 1, 1A and 1B on his pitching staff. He points out that athletic Hawkins was the No. 1 singles player in tennis and played on the junior varsity team in basketball.
Former Marian University pitcher Gabe Westerfeld is a varsity assistant coach and the program’s pitching coordinator.
“We are really, really young on the mound,” says Nance. “Gabe has our young guys believing and there have been velocity increases.”
Eric Gubera is JV coach and is also in charge of outfielders and base runners. He has coached with Nance in the summer since their sons were 8. Two years ago, they became affiliated with the Indiana Braves. This summer, they will guide the 12U Indiana Yard Goats — a squad that includes six players from Western Boone, three from Avon and one from Brownsburg player.
Nance, who was a catcher at Lebanon (Ind.) High School, Ancilla College (Donaldson, Ind.) and MacMurray College (Jacksonsonville, Ill.), handles catchers, infielders and hitters.
There are 22 players in the program and all practice together.
Western Boone (enrollment around 510) is a member of the Sagamore Conference (with Crawfordsville, Danville Community, Frankfort, Lebanon, North Montgomery, Southmont and Tri-West Hendricks).
The Stars are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping with Clinton Prairie, Delphi (2022 host), Fountain Central and Seeger. Western Boone has won two sectional titles — 1982 and 1983.
Western Boone is scheduled to open the 2022 season with three games this weekend in Unionville, Tenn., south of Nashville. An optional part of the spring break trip is attending Sunday’s Tennessee at Vanderbilt college game.
The Stars play home contests on-campus with side-by-side varsity and JV diamonds north of the school building. This year, the Stars got new brick dust for the infield and new wind screens for the outfield as well as a Hack machine and new L screens. At the end of the season, lights will go up.
“It’s a really nice place to play,” says Nance.
A 2004 Lebanon graduate, Nance played for Tigers head coach Rick Cosgray.
“He demanded a lot but got more out kids than they knew they were capable,” says Nance. “You knew he really loved the game. He was always so upbeat and positive.
“I have nothing but admiration for Coach Cosgray. I try to run my program like him.”
Nance played for two head coaches at Ancilla — Rockie Dodds and Joe Yonto.
“(Yonto) had a profound impact on me,” says Nance. “He showed me how to see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand (through eye-specific muscle training.”
In Nance’s last year at MacMurray, former high school coach Fred Curtis led the Highlanders.
“He just loved the game,” says Nance. “He said if you do the fundamentals right and not walk people, you can win ball games.”
Nance says he also appreciates the mentoring and assistance he’s received from men also leading high school programs — among them Matthew Cherry (Fishers), Troy Drosche (Avon) and Andy Dudley (Frankfort).
“There’s been such support from the coaching community,” says Nance. “They’ve been willing to help.”
Nance earned a Special Education degree at MacMurray and a masters in Criminal Justice from Xavier University in Cincinnati. This summer will mark 15 years with Boone County Community Corrections. After starting out as a probation officer, he is now executive director.
Michael and wife Emily (who played softball at Manchester University and MacMurray and now works in cancer research at Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis) have a son and daughter attending Thorntown Elementary — Easton (12) and Harper (10). He enjoys tennis, baseball and duck hunting. She likes soccer and plays travel softball with the Indiana Magic.

Emily, Easton, Michael and Harper Nance.

Michael, Emily, Easton and Harper Nance.

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Andrew Brabender keeps finding reasons to be grateful for Northridge High School’s new baseball field.

“No corners were cut,” says Brabender, who led players through their first fall workout on the new turf surface in Middelbury, Ind., Monday, Sept. 14.

Around two dozen athletes not participating in fall sports went through drills, getting used to how the ball bounces.

“Fall will be about practicing and seeing how it plays,” says Brabender. “Outfielders will have to move and keep (the ball) in front of them. Infielders will have to have arms (because there is much more foul territory than at the previous varsity field.”

Brabender notes that the backstop is about 60 feet from home plate.

Dimensions of the new field are 320 feet down the foul lines and 370 to center field.

Suspecting that the National Federation of State High School Associations is likely to put in a rule about making all outfield fences a minimum of eight feet high, Northridge made its fences that high with the batter’s eye in center at 20 feet.

There is an inning-by-inning scoreboard in left field and the sound system goes through it.

Padding and other fittings are to be installed in the dugouts. Windscreens and yellow piping will be added to the fences later.

The press box is spacious.

There is bleaching seating for about 350 fans and the space to bring in more when Northern Lakes Conference member Northridge hosts an IHSAA Class 4A sectional tournament next spring.

There are two full batting tunnels behind the Raider dugout on the third base side.

While not used Monday, the lights will be concentrated on the field.

Brabender had input in the facility and suggested that a large “N” in the program’s preferred font be placed in center field. He got the idea from the University of Michigan.

The adjacent softball field also has an “N” in center.

The football field, which played host to its first varsity contest Friday, Sept. 11, also an “N” at the 50-yard line.

Baseball, softball, football and track share the same complex, located right across the road from the high school. Interra Credit Union has the naming rights.

Construction continued through the summer even with the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the field being closer, time can be saved when starting practices or on gamedays.

Before, players had to get up the hill during dismissal traffic and that took at least 15 minutes.

“In-season, that’s a lot,” says Brabender. “Now we can start right at 4.

“We can go 90 minutes and have the same production (as a longer practice).”

The block house next to the fields has a locker room and a multi-purpose room with Promethean board that will allow for team talks or meals between games of a doubleheader.

By having two fields, the Raiders can conduct two practices or have two games at the same time. This will allow them to have a freshmen or C-team — something that previously was not practical.

“There are so many things I’m going to continue to find that’s going to be awesome,” says Brabender, who plans to run workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays on the field through the fall.

Turf fields are trending on Indiana high school campuses. There are no less than a dozen of them. LEARN MORE HERE.