By STEVE KRAH
Jimtown High School in Elkhart, Ind., has new baseball leadership.
But there is also continuity since the man named as interim head coach for 2024 the same day the school board met and tryouts were held — Todd Cook (Jimtown Class of 1994) — was on the varsity staff of then-Jimmies head coach Cory Stoner.
The vacancy at Jimtown came when Stoner left to become head football coach at Fairfield High School across Elkhart County in Benton, Ind.
Cook, who has been employed at Hoosier Crane in Elkhart for 18 years, had been involved in community baseball through J-Shock and Jimtown Park.
Junior high players play at Jimtown Park part of the Jimmies’ feeder system.
As a prep player, Cook was coached by Mike Stout, who led the Jimmies program for 25 years.
“Coach Stout is a Marine,” says Cook. “I graduated high school and went straight into the Marine Corps.
“I learned through his mentorship and coaching is the hard work, discipline and attention to detail — those nitty-gritty things; things that don’t necessarily take talent but need to be done — in sport and in life. He was a great mentor in that regard.”
Cook notes that in the Jimmies’ practice on Tuesday, March 19, one of the senior leaders saw that the dugout needed to be picked up and just did it.
“Nobody’s too good to do the small things,” says Jim Fredwell (Brownsburg Class of 1996), who returns for his fifth year as Jimtown pitching coach.
Fredwell has coached at Indiana State University and at Indianapolis area high schools, including Brownsburg, Cardinal Ritter and Pike, as well as with the Indiana Bulls travel organization.
A transfer by GEICO Insurance brought Fredwell to Elkhart County.
Former Jimmies assistant on Stout’s staff, Dave Pontius (Jimtown Class of 1972), completes the varsity staff.
At the varsity level, Cook works with hitters and middle infielders, Fredwell with pitchers and catchers and Pontius corner infielders and catchers.
Junior varsity coaches are head coach Kevin McMahon (Mishawaka Marian Class of 2008) and assistants Kaleb Sotebeer (Concord Class of 2019) and Nick Carithers (Jimtown Class of 2022).
“One of our priorities has been to stabilize the coaching staff,” says Cook. “We’re working out our roles so practices and games work out cohesively.”
With the staff’s roles defined, attention has turned to skill development.
Cook says the Jimmies will continue to seek “The GOLD Standard” — Grit, Optimistic, Leader, Discipline.
Jimtown (enrollment around 550 is a member of the Northern Indiana Conference (with Bremen, Elkhart, John Glenn, Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Saint Joseph and South Bend Washington).
The Jimmies are part of an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping in 2024 with Marian, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Saint Joseph and South Bend Washington. Jimtown has won nine sectional titles — the last in 2007.
The 2024 season opener is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26 at Mishawaka with the home opener at Booster Field Wednesday, March 27 against South Central (Union Mills).
Non-conference games are also slated against Bethany Christian, Concord, Elkhart Christian Academy, Fairfield, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Goshen, LaVille, NorthWood, Peru, Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee and West Noble.
“We’re exciting about the upcoming season,” says Cook. “We’ve got a lot of good young men on the baseball team and — by the way — they’ve got a little bit of baseball talent.”
A new outfield fence is being installed at Booster Field and a new scoreboard is expected in the next few weeks. The lighted natural-grass diamond is located behind Jimtown Elementary School.
Todd and Gretchen Cook have three children — Brianna, Dylan and Dalton.
Brianna Cook (20) is a 2022 Jimtown graduate and a sophomore at IUSB. Dylan Cook (18) is a freshman and baseball player at Bethel University in Mishawaka, Ind. Dalton Cook (16) is a sophomore and baseball player at Jimtown.
Besides Dylan Cook, 2023 Jimtown graduates to move on to college baseball include Sam Garner at Indiana University South Bend and Beau Kaler at Manchester University.
Brandon Smith (Jimtown Class of 2024) has committed to Kishwaukee College in Malta, Ill.
The program is on social media via the Jimtown Baseball Facebook page and X (formerly Twitter). The handle is @JimmieBaseball.
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