Minnetonka 12AAA team takes the title

Todd Jahnke of Hopkins and Adam Goethke of Wayzata used to be rivals in South Hennepin American Legion Baseball League pennant races. Both men took teams to state. Goethke won a state championship with Wayzata is 2015.

For the past four years, the former rivals have worked together, coaching traveling baseball in Minnetonka. Aug. 4, they completed a 42-7-2 season with the state 12-year-old AAA championship in a tournament sponsored by Minnesota Youth Athletic Services (MYAS). Three of the six wins Minnetonka scored were by one-run.

Jahnke, the team’s head coach, said, “We had a fabulous group of players and parents this year. It was the kind of summer that you don’t want to end, but it does end. We had our team party last week.”

A mature group

Jahnke was impressed by the maturity of his 12-member squad. “We were behind early in several games, but the boys fought, never gave up and played complete games at a high level.”

Against the best 12-and-Under teams in Minnesota, the Minnetonka squad passed every test. The three one-run wins were over Bemidji 11-10, Blaine 7-6 and Chanhassen 11-10. Other victories came against Brooklyn Park 10-7, St. Paul Highland Park 12-2 and Osseo-Maple Grove 11-1.

The win over Osseo-Maple Grove was the championship game. “I think Osseo-Maple Grove ran out of pitching,” Jahnke said.

Personnel

With only 12 players on the roster, Minnetonka’s 12-and-Under players had to be versatile and willing to play several different positions in most cases.

Tem members are Jacob Buehler, Wesley Dronen, Stephen Goethke, Judd Jahnke, Thomas Kirchoff, Gavin Pelstring, Jamison Sigfrids, Porter Stein, Brody Stoltz, Jude Tauscheck, Bentley Thulin and Griffin Winegarden.

Coaching with Jahnke and Goethke are Erik Winegarden and Chris Thulin.

“We have worked with a lot of the boys on the team since they were 9 years old,” coach Goethke said. “This year was a long summer with a lot of baseball. When I was growing up, I played about 20 games for the season. The kids on this team have a lot of experience and are wise beyond their years. It’s tough to argue for the old way when you see the quality of their play.”

Double duty

Goethke, a head coach for many years, is also the manager of the Minnetonka Monarchs town baseball team. He has been on the Minnetonka town team roster for a quarter of a century.

“Todd is the head coach on the 12AAA team,” Goethke said. “He is the calm one, the one who has the ability to look at the big picture. And he has an amazing ability to know what the boys need to work on.”

Jahnke, who has coached and evaluated talent for Baseball USA, is accustomed to working with very talented groups of players over the years.

His experience in putting together quality national squads also helps him to form and develop a 12AAA team.

Looking for tools

“First and foremost, you look at a player’s tools,” Jahnke said. “You look for kids who do it the right way and are good teammates with the ability to deal with adversity.”

What does Jahnke mean when he refers to being a good teammate?

“Over the course of a year the players spend a lot of time together,” he said. “We want them to think of the guy on the right and the guy on their left before they think of themselves.”

Games vs. practices

With a schedule that includes more than 50 games, Jahnke said the one drawback of modern youth traveling baseball is the game-to-practice ratio.

“I would love to practice more,” he said. “Practice gives us more opportunities to work more with the kids individually. We have one on-field practice a week and one session per week in the batting cage.”

Leading up to the state tournament, Minnetonka won three of their five tournaments, including a tournament in Omaha, Neb.

Fall tryouts

In the Minnetonka Baseball Association, teams are formed after fall tryouts. Minnetonka teams compete at AAA, AA and A levels, with AAA as the highest level. There are offseason workouts to prepare for games that begin in the spring.

“The boys are able to bond in the offseason,” coach Jahnke said. “Some of them play on fall ball teams. Then some go on to play hockey or basketball during the winter. It is a developmental process when we train for baseball in the offseason. We start slowly and build them up. Development of players has always been my passion. One of our goals is to have healthy arms at the end of July.”