Tag Archives: Satellites

Bradley’s Husmann makes habit of bashing baseballs

August 2, 2022 stvkrh905 Leave a comment

Carson Husmann was known to put baseballs in orbit while playing for the Satellites of South Central Junior/Senior High School in Union Mills, Ind.
The right-handed hitter belted 31 home runs during his prep career, including 14 as a senior in 2019.
Husmann was back at it in 2022 at NCAA Division I Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
In 49 games (all starts), the corner outfielder hit .277 (52-of-188) with 13 homers, nine doubles, 45 runs batted in, 38 runs scored and .908 OPS (.365 on-base percentage plus .543 slugging average).
Batting in the No. 4 hole in the Braves lineup, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Husmann went to the dish with an idea.
“Hunt the fastball in the (strike) zone and don’t miss it,” says Husmann. “I can do damage with other pitches as well, but I really don’t want to miss the fastball in any count.”
While playing for the Josh Foreman-managed Moon Shots in the 2022 College Summer League at Grand Park, Husmann batted .352 with two homers, eight doubles and 15 RBIs. He also socked a homer in the CSL All-Star Game and made the All-CSL team as an outfielder.
His offensive aim was to improve his small-ball two-strike approach.
“I was working on keeping the ball in the zone,” says Husmann. “Cutting down on the strikeouts is the biggest goal I had this summer.”
He fanned 67 times and walked 20 in the spring.
Husmann did not enjoy much success at the plate his first two seasons at Bradley (2020 and 2021).
In 28 games, he hit .189 (14-of-74) with three homers, two doubles, 14 RBIs and 14 runs.
“Freshman year was a blur with COVID,” says Husmann. “The following year I had an injury that no one really knew about that messed with me mentally.
“Baseball is a mental game for sure.”
Batting in the 5-hole and doing well, Husmann fouled a ball off his left ankle.
“It went down hill from there,” says Husmann. “It was something I was always thinking about.”
There was a persistent cramping feeling.
With air travel restrictions, Bradley had to hit the road.
“We went on 14-hour bus trips back-to-back-to-back and I formed a blood clot,” says Husmann. “I was taking baby aspirin.”
Husmann signed to play with the Duluth (Minn.) Huskies for the 2022 Northwoods League summer season.
But injury caused him to stay closer to home and he was with the Grand Park league champion Bag Bandits (managed by Caleb Fenimore).
That’s where Husmann began to get back on track.
“I got my head right and just went from there,” says Husmann.
At Bradley, he played for head coach Elvis Dominguez and works with hitting coach Kyle Trewyn.
“When I think of Coach D I think of how he’s created a family environment,” says Husmann of Dominguez. “(Trewyn) gets you in a good place to hit. As you get older you can do those things on your own. He always stuck with me. He’s helped me become a better hitter overall.”
Born in Valparaiso, Ind., Husmann grew up in Hanna, Ind.
He played his earliest organized baseball in Hanna then was in travel ball with the Chesterton Vipers, Michigan Blue Jays and Chicago-based Midwest Rangers and subbed with other squads.
“It was with the Blue Jays that I first got individual coaching and started to develop,” says Husmann.
As a four-year varsity player at South Central, he hit over .400 each season and drove in 112 runs in 100 games. He was a Class 1A first-team all-stater.
He was a classmate and teammate of Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Stars MVP Kyle Schmack (now at Valparaiso University).
Ryan Kruszka, who pitched at Butler University was the Satellites head baseball coach. Former Valparaiso U. hurler Jared Miller was pitching coach.
“They had that college experience and were able to make us a better team because of it,” says Husmann. “Our conditioning was college style. It helped me know what to expect (in college).”
The first summer after high school was Husmann’s last with the Midwest Rangers.
In 2020, he was going to play in the Northwoods League with the Lacrosse (Wis.) Loggers. When that team played a modified season because the pandemic, Husmann was able to get in his reps with the Long Boarders of the San Diego League.
He learned about the SDL from Bradley teammate and San Diego native Connor O’Brien.
Husmann, 21, will head back to college with two years of remaining eligibility.
He is 10 hours shy of earning his Business Management and Leadership degree. He expects to be a graduate student in the spring while he works toward a Master of Business Administration.
“If the (Major League Baseball First-Year Player) Draft isn’t an option, I’ll use that fifth year for sure,” says Husmann, a regular on the Bradley Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. “I thought of getting a minor or a second major. But an MBA is a way to separate you from others.”
Carson is the second of Lance and Kim Husmann’s three sons. Cooper (24) played basketball and baseball at South Central and graduated in 2016. Cade (20) was in the South Central Class of 2020.
Former longtime union painter Lance Husmann works at Hard Rock Casino in Gary, Ind. Kim Husmann has worked as a teacher’s assistant.

Carson Husmann (Bradley University Photo)

Carson Husmann (Josh Schwam/Bradley University Photo)

Carson Husmann (College Summer League at Grand Park Photo)

High School

Coulter, South Central Satellites eager for ’21

January 15, 2021 stvkrh905 13 Comments

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Zach Coulter has been head baseball coach at South Central Junior/Senior High School in Union Mills, Ind., for more than 500 days and has yet to earn a win or loss.

Hired prior to 2020, there was much anticipation with a talented group coming back.

The Satellites won the Porter County Conference for just the third time (2009 and 2017 were the other title seasons) and the IHSAA Class 1A South Bend Career Academy Sectional before losing in the South Bend Regional championship to eventual state runner-up and fellow PCC member Washington Township in 2019.

Several key starters from that squad returned in 2020.

But the Satellites never took the field in 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That’s the hand we’ve been dealt,” says Coulter. “Like everyone else.”

Coulter and company now getting ready for 2021 with more high hopes.

“I think we’ll be a dark horse this year,” says Coulter. “We’ve revamped the entire program and internally changed our mindset.”

South Central (enrollment around 325) is part of a 1A sectional grouping with Argos, Culver Community, LaCrosse, Oregon-Davis, South Bend Career Academy and Triton. The Satellites have won 16 sectional crowns, including 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. South Central won regional crowns in 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2011.

“We’re the sectional favorite or co-favorite almost every year,” says Coulter. “We don’t want winning sectional defining our season.”

When the Satellites break a huddle in practice, the chant is “138.”

That’s the number of miles from Satellite Field to Victory Field in Indianapolis — site of the IHSAA State Finals.

“We have a very talented group,” says Coulter. “It’s an exciting time to be a South Central baseball player.

“We’re more poised now to make a pretty deep (tournament) run.”

Last summer, South Central took part in five travel tournaments. No players were turned away. There were 32 taking part in games and workouts.

With the majority of the varsity lineup committed to other travel teams, 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds played in 17U events.

With all the players together, a title was won at the On Turf Sports Classic in Columbia City, Ind., beating a team made up of Avon and Plainfield high school players for the championship. There was also a squad from Cincinnati and the Harris Storm (Penn High School players).

There are currently 38 identified with the program, including 18 freshmen. One member of the Class of 2024 — pitcher Bradley Ferrell — shined at a recent Perfect Game event in Florida.

Coulter is a 2009 LaPorte High School graduate. Other LPHS alums on his Satellite coaching staff include pitching coach Tony Ferrell (a member of the 1992 state champions and father of Bradley), Dave Santana and Garrett Kautz with the varsity. Alex Rochowiak is the JV head coach. Zach Lee is the JV pitching coach. Chesterton High School graduate Rochowiak played is the son of Michigan City High School head coach Jeff Rochowiak.

South Central has also gotten new uniforms for its varsity and junior teams and put a new windscreen completely around its home park.

The coaching staff donated their 2020 salaries to pay for infield playing mix, which helps with turnaround time on rain days.

The grass baseline have been replaced with dirt.

“It looks more like a baseball field now,” says Coulter.

Besides South Central, the Porter County Conference includes Boone Grove, Hebron, Kouts, LaCrosse, Morgan Township, Washington Township and Westville.

Boone Grove won the IHSAA Class 2A state championship in 2018 with Washington Township making it to the Class 1A finale in 2019.

“It’s a pretty solid conference in baseball,” says Coulter. Currently the largest of Indiana’s 1A schools, South Central has yet to win a PCC tournament.

Recent South Central graduates now in NCAA Division I college baseball are Carson Husmann (Bradley University) and Kyle Schmack (Valparaiso University).

The Satellite Series — a competition among groups — was launched in November and will continue until tryouts in March. Upperclassmen drafted teams of underclassmen. Teams compete for weekly points based on attendance, Baseball I.Q. sessions, in-person hitting sessions and school grades.

“The kids have absolutely eaten it up,” says Coulter, who adds that they are vying for a letter jacket patch and a steak dinner grilled by the coaching staff.

South Central players build their Baseball I.Q. with Zoom sessions that have included guests like Evan Miller (a pitcher in the San Diego Padres system who starred at LaPorte High and Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne) and Rob Younce (a Philadelphia Phillies scout and national travel coach with the Canes).

Coulter encourages his players to talk and think like a coach and presents lessons from American Baseball Coaches Association convention speakers and the Baseball Coaching Bible edited by Jerry Kindall and John Winkin and featuring 27 coaches including LaPorte legend Ken Schreiber.

“It’s been real beneficial,” says Coulter. “The No. 1 priority in our program is to play catch. If you can’t play catch, you can’t play baseball.

“(Our players) hear some words from people at the top of the game.”

There are plans for Coulter and his assistant to tap into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association State Clinic, which will stream its speakers to members Saturday, Jan. 16.

“It allows us to grow and stay current with the times,” says Coulter.

After playing football and lacrosse and a few seasons of basketball in high school, Coulter went to Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind., where he pursued a Business Management degree and served as a student assistant football coach on the staff of Shannon Griffith.

After a season a junior varsity baseball coach at LaPorte, Coulter led the South Shore Smoke 13U travel team.

Coulter and partner Kevin Tran are Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance agents based in LaPorte.

High School

Snyder in second go-round leading LaCrosse Tigers

January 13, 2021 stvkrh905 5 Comments

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Eric Snyder’s coaching style is based on discipline.

In his second stint as head baseball coach at LaCrosse (Ind.) High School, Snyder expects his Tigers to say “Yes Sir” and “Yes Ma’am” and to keep their hair neat and jerseys tucked in. They must stay on top of their studies.

“Today’s society shies away from discipline,” says Snyder, who led LaCrosse for five seasons (2000-04 with IHSAA Class 1A top-10 rankings in four of those seasons and a West Central Sectional title in 2002) then took time off to raise his children. “There’s a way to win and it does take discipline.”

During his first Tigers tenure, 18 players went on to college baseball in five years.

“I push extremely hard with grades,” says Snyder. “That’s part of the discipline factor. I want people to say that’s a baseball player at the school.

“They know we’re different.”

Snyder derived this approach from the men he encountered along his baseball path. A 1986 graduate of South Central High School at Union Mills, Ind., he played for Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bob Schellinger and later coached with him. He also coached C-team boys basketball and was involved in Hanna youth baseball.

Snyder was on the Satellites high school baseball staff for 11 years before taking over the reins at LaCrosse.

While still a player, Snyder was on a world champion Junior Olympic team that featured IHSBCA Hall of Famers Ric Tomaszewski and Len Buczkowski plus Jim Dermody among the coaches. These men all ran extremely disciplined high school programs — Tomaszewski at South Bend Washington, Buczkowski at South Bend Adams and Dermody at Warsaw.

Teammates included LaPorte High School’s Scott Upp and Greg Perschke. Upp went on to be head coach at LaPorte, following legend Ken Schreiber and Perschke the head coach at Trine University in Angola, Ind.

One of Snyder’s best friends in coaching is Washington Township’s Randy Roberts. They share similar styles.

“I had a good upbringing,” says Snyder, 52. “I’m very appreciative of all the people that came into my life.”

While he came back to just in time to have the 2020 season taken away because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are plenty of positives surrounding LaCrosse baseball.

Nearly $60,000 — most of it donated — has been poured into the improvement of Tiger Field, which is located less than a mile northeast of the school building.

“It’s going to surprise a lot of people,” says Snyder of an ongoing project at the Dewey Township-owned facility that has added a new net back stop with a four-foot brick wall inside and stone outside plus updated dugouts, mound and plate areas and an infield sprinkler system with more to come.

Snyder is approaching 19 years with North Star Stone in Valparaiso, Ind. The company manufactures and installs stone products.

Snyder expects as many as 28 players (including 13 freshmen) this spring, meaning the Tigers will be able to field a junior varsity team for likely the first time ever.

Helping Snyder coach are Brian “Chico” Lipscomb, J.T. Snyder and Dan Snyder. Lipscomb was a standout at LaPorte who played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. J.T., Eric’s son, and Dan, Eric’s nephew, played at South Central. Dan Snyder, who pitched and was the athlete of the year at Purdue University Northwest, is LaCrosse’s pitching coach.

Other former college or pro players have come in to help teach the Tigers.

Feeding the high school program is the Southwest County Conference — a youth league for ages 5 to 12 with teams feeding schools at LaCrosse, Wanatah, Clinton, Hanna and Union Mills. LaCrosse uses the softball field near Tiger Field.

“I’m a big part of that,” says Snyder. “I want to teach them everything I need them to know (at the high school level).

“We teach them how to bunt, lead off and steal. We treat the youngest kids just like they were freshmen.”

LaCrosse (enrollment around 105) is a member of the Porter County Conference (with Boone Grove, Hebron, Kouts, Morgan Township, South Central, Washington Township and Westville).

PCC schools field junior high teams and Snyder is there to guide the LaCrosse squad for sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

The Tigers are part of an IHSAA Class 1A sectional grouping with Argos, Culver Community, Oregon-Davis, South Bend Career Academy, South Central (Union Mills) and Triton. LaCrosse has won three sectional titles — 1976, 1989 and 2002.

In coaching LaCrosse fifth and sixth grade boys basketball players this winter, Snyder took over a team with a 1.7 grade-point average. By season’s end it was 3.1.

“That’s why I’m involved at the lower levels,” says Snyder.

LaCrosse conducted fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period workouts and is just getting started with winter conditioning/practice given that so many baseball players also play basketball.

Eric and Sara Snyder have five children (two girls followed by three sons) — Alex (26), Danielle (25), J.T. (23), R.J. (21) and Eli (10). The four oldest were all South Central athletes — Alex in volleyball, basketball and softball, Danielle in softball, J.T. in baseball and basketball and R.J. in baseball and basketball. R.J. Snyder is an outfielder at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind.

Eli Snyder, a baseball and basketball player, is Wanatah School. There are plans in the Tri-Township Consolidated School Corporation to change the high school location eight miles north to Wanatah.