By Bruce Karnick

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The Hastings High School Baseball program lost a good one when head coach Taylor Pagel resigned earlier this spring, which meant Athletic Director Trent Hanson had some big shoes to fill.

“We had five candidates apply,” explained Hanson during the break of the girls’ soccer alumni game. “A couple internal and a couple external candidates. All of them were very good candidates, we have a tough decision to make.”

That decision was made quickly and announced Friday that Assistant Coach Ryan Stoffel would be promoted to Head Coach for the 2021-22 school year. Stoffel has been with the program at the high school for three years but involved in baseball much longer. He is also the travelling director for HYAA, so his connection to Hastings baseball is solid.

“We’ve had lots of successful teams in the last few years you know at all age levels, AAA, AA, A, across the board so you know the youth program is in great shape, and I would still like to sit down with those guys make sure we are still sharing the same message. The advantage is, a lot of the youth coaches are assistants in the High School Program. Guys like Nick Sherry, Ryan Seleski, Derrick Pfeffer, Mike Scholttman, these guys get it,” explained Stoffel.

With great baseball guys like that in his corner it’s easy to step in and take over a program that has had some successes, a credit to his predecessor, Coach Pagel. “Taylor left the program in great shape,” he added.

What is the application process like? The job gets posted and remains open for three weeks. Hanson then contacts the candidates for interviews and the candidates go before a committee made up of baseball type people in the community. The interview lasts about 45 minutes and of course, each applicant has to pass a series of pre-screening things like a background check.

With the official announcement, Coach Stoffel hopes to talk to the assistants from last year to keep them on board.

“I think we’ll be in good shape and, you know, not a whole lot will change. Obviously, every new coach is gonna put his own twist on things, but I think we’ll be able to hit the ground running right out the gate. The big thing is, we won’t coach around each other and, and we understand what we all bring to the table. And then together I think we can do a really good job leading this team, now and into the future.”

Stoffel explained that his twist is to approach the program as one team. Do stuff that includes all the kids from ninth grade on up. Once a week, hold a rapid-fire practice with all kids working together. Give the younger kids a chance to see what it takes to be a varsity player, give the varsity guys a chance to coach the younger guys. Teaching a skill breeds understanding of the skill, it makes you think about what you are doing and why. An important and often underappreciated piece of baseball.

If you know Stoffel, you know his passion for the game. Often you can find him watching other levels, down to the little t-ball kids, up to the townball/amateur level with the Hastings Hawks.

“It’s been fun watching the three guys that just graduated play townball. Jake Sandquist, Ben Teigland, and Simon Hedin, they all took advantage and went and played this summer and they had a blast. It’s huge having a townball team here in Hastings. Look at the MBA, the townball state playoffs are going this weekend, there’s nothing better.”

“I need to thank all these people out there, my wife being number one. We will be married 20 years this coming Wednesday. I’ve been coaching for pretty much that whole times and she’s always been a great supporter of that. She lets me pursue my passion and whatnot so you know so it’s great to have her support in doing these things. Then I got, you know, a lot of guys that have helped me get here and you don’t get these kinds of jobs by yourself,” concluded Stoffel.

One of the big reasons that amateur and youth athletics is losing coaches and officials is the pressure put on not only the kids, but the other folks associated with the sport by the parents and fans. Something that has been addressed numerous times in the last year of sports stories. Parents seem to think their kids is the next big thing, and the challenge is to knock that off. There is no thinking. It should be glaringly obvious. Like hit you in the face with a 90 MPH fastball obvious. When you see a student athlete that actually has much talent as parents think their kid has, it is mind blowing. Even that kid has a small chance of making it big.

When this was discussed with Stoffel, he felt he will handle it just fine. “It’s all about setting clear expectations with the families and players. Set your rules and stick with them, don’t get wishy washy and fade away from the rules. And parents need to let their kid go out there and have fun. Remember, this is high school athletics and it’s supposed to be fun. Don’t lose sight of that.”

The fun aspect does not mean he is not concerned with winning, far from it, but he understands this is a game and that games are meant to be fun. They are more fun when you are winning and everyone is playing well, but they are meant to be fun.

“The bottom line, the most important part as a coach is, you’ve got to be honest. You’ve got to have good communication when you can. We’re all adults here so you have to act like it and communicate,” added Stoffel.

Stoffel will solidify his coaching staff over the next few months and get prepared for spring baseball with training starting in March. Good luck Raiders!

Ryan Stoffel earned the head baseball coach spot in part because of his connection with the players. Here he congratulates his son, Conor, after a two pitch relief appearance to close out the Rosemount victory. Photo by Bruce Karnick

New head coach Ryan Stoffel was the first one on the field to congratulate pitcher Jerry Schumacher on his stellar performance against the number six ranked team in the state. Schumacher pitched a 6 and 2/3 shutout but had to be pulled for the final out due to MSHSL pitch count rules. Photo by Bruce Karnick