I knew interviewing John Sandstrom, my predecessor in this role, would be easy in the sense that he’d know exactly what information I was after, or at least have a pretty good idea. However, it was still a bit intimidating. I’ve admired his work and have referred to it as I do my best to fill his shoes. If you’ve met John, coach of the Two Harbors Agates softball team, you would’ve told me there was no reason to have any anxiety. He is quite easy to talk to and extremely kind.
I quickly thanked him for getting in an article about the season last month and relayed how much I had wanted to connect with him earlier in the year. He was happy to have jumped back in and contributed to the sports section of our paper on his team’s behalf. “I just like to brag about them because they’re such great kids,” he said.
Working with the kids is at the heart of why he loves to coach. “The reason I do it is just because I love to be around kids and these kids make me smile,” John told me. “They’re all funny. Kids in general get a bad rap and I think it’s unfair because I think they have so much to offer the world.”
He thinks about the world of the student-athletes he coaches for many reasons. The first thing he wanted to relay about them was the fact that well over 90% of the team were on the honor roll. According to the coach, this is an indicator of the quality of the kids. Half of the players are 3-sport athletes, too. All of them are busy girls!
This is John’s second year coaching the Two Harbors team. He coached boys basketball in Silver Bay previously, for five years. He told me about writing the sports column and the interviews he used to have with the players.
“I would interview young people and none of them said, ‘Oh, we have to win’ they said things like, ‘Well, we like to win, but there are more important things. We feel a responsibility to our younger teammates,’ and they appreciate the fact they have friends on other teams,” John told me. “I think that’s just amazing and I’m so glad to hear that from young people.”
The season’s team was indeed a young one. There were only two seniors this year. Typically, there were two 8th graders and a 9th grader who were starting players. Some of the players didn’t have a lot of experience playing softball, but John feels they are good players already and will continue to improve.
“I had so much respect for them, but it’s tough to watch them struggle with some things while you’re learning,” said the coach. “We made our share of mistakes that young teams make. What I appreciate about them is that they never quit.”
Then again, baseball and softball are nothing if not full of mistakes. John pointed out that a 300 hitter is a hero, but fails 7 times out of 10.
“You’re going to make mistakes. There’s a lot of failure in softball as you’re learning new things and new positions. You work on the fundamentals then you have to go back to them,” he said.
It was a rough season in more than one way for the Agates. John reported that there were more illnesses and injuries than he’s ever had. The whole team was together in only 3 games throughout the season.
Pitching took a hit when the first pitcher broke her finger and the second was taken out by a line drive to the abdomen. It’s obviously a pretty vital position. “No coach, in all of softball, ever said they have too many pitchers or catchers,” John said, speaking to how he hates to over pitch pitchers. The team is in luck, however. There will be four pitchers next year. Alexa Jones will be a freshman and is joining the pitching team. Sophomores Raegan Hogenson and Lainee Anderson will also continue to take the mound. Lydia Lifto, who will be a junior, will be pitching as well. Lydia battled a knee injury this season, but the coach mentioned the strong contributions she had for the team in almost every position.
With the many challenges of the season, the team didn’t have as many successes as the coach would’ve hoped.
“We lost a lot more than we won, but I don’t expect that trend to continue. We played a lot of really good teams,” he said, pointing out that they played Silver Bay twice, Proctor (who went on to state), Moose Lake (who also went on to state), and Southridge, as well as other talented teams.
Yet, the team succeeded in the very best ways. Above all, they have had a lot of fun this season. In a coaching session back when John first got his coaching license, he remembers the Minnesota High School League having conducted a survey to ask why people play sports. The coaches in attendance thought the answer would be closer to wanting to compete and win and be the best. The survey revealed that the #1 reason kids play sports is to have fun and play with their friends.
“I think that’s so true,” John agreed. “They want to be with the people that they love doing something that they love.”
There were several standouts this season. The Most Valuable Player proved to be Raegan Hogenson. The Most Improved Player went to Emmy Bentler. “She started off playing, then she had a period in the middle where nothing went her way, then she finished strong,” her coach said. He recounted the last game of the season up against Esko. “They handled us pretty well, but Emmy made catch after catch in the outfield. They were not easy catches. I was so proud of her.”
The Hardest Worker award went to Haydon Bright. The Best Teammate was Viveca Uremovich, who was always rooting for people which the coach and team appreciated throughout the season.
There were two Rookies of the Year selected. Halle Komerak was one of the leading hitters as an 8th grader. Rose Huddleston, according to the coach, is as fast as the wind.
Though all the other awards are by consensus, John picks the leadership award.
“It’s for that person who I considered a sure thing,” he said. “A person who takes on responsibilities. I love to see kids come to you and say, ‘if you want to put a younger kid in for me for a couple innings, I’m happy to come out.’”
Marlee Hogenson was that person. “I gave her responsibility and responsibility and responsibility and she accepted and excelled at it,” said John.
Senior Harper Powell was selected to the Polar League All-Conference team and will play in the Conference All-Star game on June 18th. She is attending Hamline University next year to play hockey. Jocelyn Seagren, the other senior on the team, will be attending St. Scholastica for nursing.
“They were good leaders,” said the coach. “Really good with the younger kids. That’s true of every team. Older kids take care of the younger kids because they’re siblings of their friends.”
The team plans on working on honing their skills. “We’re going to work this summer on learning to play positions. The fine points of playing,” said John. “Softball seems like such a simple game but there’s a lot to it.”
He mentioned how helpful Annie Seaberg has been as an assistant coach. She played softball in Dassell-Cokato as short stop and second base. She’s been able to impart her wisdom and the coach says the girls really listen to her. Other very helpful coaches have been Ric Hogenson, Mike McGrath, and Rich Powell.
I was right that John would be an easy interview. He did know exactly what I was after without me needing to prompt him much along the way. He was genuine in his admiration for the girls on the team and expressed how proud he was of them throughout the conversation. I have much faith that the young team will grow into a force to be reckoned with and I can’t wait to talk to John about it again next season.
Congratulations to the Two Harbors Softball Team for all the hard work you put in this year!
