St. Michael-Albertville 11AAA Team Lives out Dream Season

What defines a winning team? What are the key elements to produce a team that can win 45 of their 52 games played at an age elite level? What do these boys possess that allows them to win every one of their six tournament games against the best of their peer group?

The answer is threefold. First, the team consists of hugely talented kids. Second, these boys have behind them grounded, supportive parents. Third, all are led by devoted coaches that shape and develop top teams by sculpting top players. If one of these variables is taken out of the equation–the final outcome will change dramatically.

Over the summer, head coach Lance Krupke and assistant coaches Scott Morris and Tom Krehbiel led their 11 AAA STMA Knights baseball team to become tournament champs.

Every tournament produces a winning team. What makes this team unique?

“The boys on the team get along so well, their camaraderie keeps them going when one has a bad night. They lift each other up, no one tears down here.” Lance shares.

The fact the boys are so bonded, and can read each other so well, is one of their keys to success. “For the boys,” Lance shares, “there really is no 'I' in team. We as coaches don’t treat any one player differently than another – they all pull the same weight. We need them all and we expect the same level of performance from each of them. They know it and they don’t let us down.”

 “These boys have actually been together for three years now,”  Lance said. “With the exception of one boy last year that was added, these same boys keep placing together each year.”

A major component of their success was what Lance described as, “...absolutely the best parents in baseball. Always willing to help out, always willing to do whatever we needed to support the team. That attitude is felt and copied by the kids. Everyone supports everyone.”

At this level, boys must still rotate positions and the number of innings any one player can play at one position is limited. For these boys, this is not a deduct – rather another chance to show their collective skills supersede individual skills at this point. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

For three years the boys sought to win the Gopher State Tournament Championship and the tournament ring that went along with the title. 2011 was their year as they took the title with an unbroken record of wins: 6-0. This is an “elite” tournament in the state that comprises a majority of top teams at this age level, this year totaling 32 teams.

In addition to the title, the boys each get an inscribed ring with their name, team record, “Tournament of Champions” and their roster number. They will be presented their rings at a Twins game at Target Field on Sept. 17.

Along with the ring, comes the once in a lifetime memory of winning the way every team wants to win–in a fight to the end. Their Championships team rival was Blaine–to whom they had lost earlier in the summer. The game went extra innings and STMA beat them in the bottom of the final inning, taking the game with 4-3 win.

A fifth grade teacher at St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West and the head coach, Lance is no stranger to baseball himself. His own career started at age three and went through college, where he was a four letter award winner. These days, his own time on the plate is sidelined to focus on his son Marcus and the 11AAA travel team, as well as his two younger sons. Nine-year old Jordan was an American league player and 5-year-old Drake still hangs out in the bleachers with mom, Renee, a fourth grade teacher at St. Michael Elementary.

During baseball season, practice is held four to six nights a week, spring through the end of summer, with travel games half the weekends of the month. Week day games will number two or three on top of practices.

These boys love baseball and find ways to keep their skills up all year long with batting and hitting cages through the winter. Many of the team players excel in other sports such as hockey, football and wrestling..

Assistant Coach Tom Krehbiel shares his feelings on why these boys reached such levels of success.

“It’s the parents. They raised their kids right. Because of them, these kids get along so well and play so well together. Their parents taught them discipline that has given them a work ethic that carries over to sports. It’s easy to coach kids who work so hard," he said.

The boys also took several other tournament titles this summer: first place in the Minnesota Sports Federation Tournament for 11 AAA boys. At the end of June they went 5 - 0 in the Mankato Tournament and took the championship title.

Tournament champs aside, there is another achievement that makes these coaches exceptionally proud –their players' fantastic sense of sportsmanship. In fact, these STMA boys have earned a reputation among their opposing team peers for exceptional sportsmanship.

Lance hears frequent compliments on his boys from other coaches. In fact out of 52 games, Lance estimates he received compliments from 30-35 different coaches about the boys. Kudos given ranged from, “well coached kids to nice kids to great parents. One coach even said “if we had to lose to anyone – you are who we’d want to lose to.”

Lance adds, “Although I must say, 95 percent of the teams we play also exhibit the highest level of sportsmanship. It’s very rare to see a boy refuse to congratulate the other team.”

Kids grow up, new teams are formed but what these three coaches–who together comprise over 50 years of coaching experience–know the boys will never lose is the memories.

“We own that, these memories of this amazing summer are all of ours, and we’ll cherish it forever no matter where each boy ends up in life. It has just been the most amazing summer and amazing end to our best ever season of baseball.”

The roster of the 11 AAA STMA Championship team is as follows:

• Alex Wilde 1
• Blake Spetz 2
• Tyler Malerich 3
• Marcus Krupke 4
• Shane Morris 5
• Garret Barthel 7
• Michael Asbury 8
• Mitchell Kartes 9
• Thomas Pelant 10
• Ethan Krehbiel-Valoaga 11
• Paxton Thompson 12
• Jack Fiedler 13
• Bat Boys:  Jordan Krupke and Ben Fiedler

Season : The St. Michael 11AAA baseball team claimed six winning titles in their 2011 season and had an outstanding record of 45 - 7. They went undefeated in four games at the Elk River Ice Breaker Tournament the first weekend in May. Then later in May at the Wayzata Tournament the team went 4-2 and still claimed the championship. In June the team placed 1st in the St. Michael tournament going 5-0. In July they competed in three state tournaments. In the MBT tournament they were 2-2 and didn’t secure a title.  The biggest highlight of the season was when the team played in the Gopher State Tournament of Champions and won it with a record of 6-0. Lastly, the team ended their season on July 24th and took the MSF state tournament title for the second year in a row going 4-0.