A remarkable 29-year coaching career comes to an end for Aitor Leniz, who served as Braham’s head varsity baseball coach since 2000. His retirement was announced at a recent school board meeting.
Prior to stepping foot into the Bombers community, Leniz began teaching in Nevada in 1995, where he also coached high school baseball for five years before officially making the move to Minnesota in 2000.
Upon the arrival to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where he initially jump-started his 24-year coaching journey with Braham baseball, Leniz began teaching the sixth grade before switching to the fifth grade in 2003, which he had stuck with ever since.
Leniz said the reasons for his retirement from coaching revolve around his daughter Lauren Leniz and his son Logan Leniz, who was a senior on the Braham baseball team this past season.
“Well, in all reality, I wanted to watch my youngest kid play. She’s a softball player, and this year was my last year coaching my son,” Leniz said.
“Now that my youngest daughter is in high school and playing varsity softball, I wanted to get that opportunity to see her play more, because I have missed a lot of her games in the past due to coaching. It just gives me a chance to do the family thing, too.”
Leniz briefly detailed how he ultimately ended up at Braham and why he’s chosen to stay loyal to the community who gave him an opportunity to do what he loves.
“I was out coaching high school ball in Nevada, which lasted around five years. As soon as I got here, the coaching position came open. There was actually a coach prior to me that was here for 35 years,” Leniz said.
“There was a one-year stint by a coach who was just kind of in and out quick – and then I’ve been here now for 24 years. Regarding staying around, I just became a part of the great community.
“To be honest, the kids – you don’t necessarily want to move them around – we just wanted to keep them in one spot,” Leniz said.
“Teaching-wise, it’s hard to move around and still maintain your name, your seniority and level of various things that relate to the teaching industry. We really just wanted to stick around and become a bigger part of the community.
“Your kids are growing up there – so you don’t want to just up and leave. We developed great friends here, so that’s also what has kept us here.”
With now being recently retired, Leniz notes a variety of factors he’s most proud of after looking back on everything as a whole following the last 24 years.
“I’m super excited with how the program has increased over the years in terms of numbers and the overall level of play since when I first got here – I’m excited to watch it continue to grow,” Leniz said. “We have a youth program, tee-ball all the way down to preschool, and the younger kids have been starting in second grade and have worked themselves all the way through.
“I’m just proud of the improvement as a whole over these years.”
Despite the retirement, Leniz still plans to be active within the community and has hopes of potentially becoming an umpire, but not before he enjoys some rounds of golf first.
“Like I said, enjoy my kids, golf a little bit here and there, and maybe dabble in with the other side of things and be an umpire at some point,” Leniz said. “Just being able to have more time with the family overall – it’s extremely important these days.”
This past 2024 season ranks at the top of Leniz’s list in terms of favorite and memorable seasons he’s had since becoming the Bombers’ head coach – mainly due to it being his very last season coaching his son.
“I guess the most memorable season would be this last one, coaching my own kid and all,” Leniz said. “And those groups of boys whom I’ve coached since the youth program all the way up, it’s just a fun time and a great experience.
“I’ve had many great groups over the years. We made it to a section final about five years ago, which was definitely a plus for our program. Lots of great moments here and there, but coaching this year’s group of seniors and all of the other seniors along the way have been amazing – all of our kids have been amazing. It’s just been a fun ride,” Leniz said.
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