Building Tomorrow’s Vikings: Leadership and Resilience in Cook County Baseball

The final game of the Cook Coun­ty Vikings’ regular baseball season, a close contest against the Agates, gave Vikings head coach Arleigh Jorgenson a strong sense of déjà vu. With the score tied going into the seventh inning, it was shaping up to be a familiar showdown.

“It reminded me of a game we played against Two Harbors many years ago in which it went like that,” Jorgenson recalled. “It looked like it was going to go into extra innings yesterday, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. In that partic­ular year, we finally had to end the game due to lack of daylight. It’s the only recorded official tie game that I’ve ever been a part of.”

According to Jorgenson, the game turned into a “high scoring af­fair due to mistakes by both teams,” making for an unpredictable and in­tense battle. Despite the Vikings’ narrow 15-16 loss, he saw the game as a powerful example of resilience and determination on both sides.

“It was a great game,” Jorgen­son said. “Both teams battled right to the end in spite of the fact that both teams were making mistakes that were really hard on their con­fidence. But they didn’t back down. I’m really proud of our team and Two Harbors should be proud of theirs. It was quite a way to end the season.”

The season started with challeng­es for area teams. The Vikings spent much of their early days practicing indoors due to the weather.

“Our field just wouldn’t dry up,” Jorgenson explained. “That real­ly is the story of our team but also a whole lot of other teams. We’re slow getting onto our fields.”

This year, the Vikings fielded a smaller team, with 22 players spread across varsity and junior high. The roster included five seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and no freshmen, along with an eighth-grade starter and two more eighth graders serving as substitutes.

“We’re a slim team in terms of numbers, but pretty versatile,” Jor­genson said. “A lot of kids can play different positions, and we’ve man­aged to get through the season pret­ty well.”

A unique aspect of the team’s versatility is that seven of the nine starters are also pitchers, giving the Vikings plenty of options on the mound.

“With games so stacked up, we had to be really judicious and care­ful with our pitchers to make sure no one was overused and that ev­eryone was at their best when they took the mound, physically rested enough to do a good job,” said Jor­genson. “It kept us in games.”

Though many games didn’t end as the Vikings hoped, Coach Jor­genson said there were only a few times the team was completely out­matched. Most games stayed close, showing the team’s tenacity and drive.

“We didn’t have a great record,” Jorgenson admitted. “But in terms of having great kids who worked hard, who never gave up, who are intelligent, respectful, it was one of my favorite years ever coaching and I’ve coached many years.”

Jorgenson’s coaching career goes back well before the current pro­gram, which he helped create in 2000. Over the past 25 years, he’s been a steady part of the team’s growth, having also coached Le­gion ball and Little League before that.

Over the years, Jorgenson has been consistently impressed by the way older players take young­er teammates under their wing, and this season was no different. In fact, alongside the junior high and var­sity players, four enthusiastic sixth graders joined practices, soaking up every bit of knowledge and encour­agement from their more experi­enced teammates.

“Our junior high team is awe­some,” Jorgenson reported. “They’re playing so well and have learned a tremendous amount from the varsity players. The younger kids are genuinely encouraged and supported by the older players, cre­ating a tight-knit group that cares deeply about each other.”

Sometimes, older kids can dis­miss younger teammates with com­ments like, “Well, you’re the fresh­man, you carry the bags.” But this year was different. The upperclass­men took responsibility seriously, showing leadership and encourage­ment every step of the way.

That kind of mentorship is crucial for shaping the future of Vikings baseball.

“Older players don’t even realize how much their words and actions influence the younger players,” Jor­genson explained. “This group tru­ly understands their responsibility and the role they play in carrying the program forward.”

One of the seniors, Noah Smith, is the school’s valedictorian and will be attending the University of Minnesota. Jorgenson said, “I am very proud of that young man.” An­other senior, Cade Smith, is headed to River Falls to play football. Jor­genson described him as a focused kid and a tremendous three-sport athlete who “works hard all the time.”

Beyond the great leadership on the field, Jorgenson is grateful for the strong coaching staff that sup­ported the team this season.

“I had a great coaching staff this year. Pete Mott was terrific. He worked really hard, came in the mornings and did batting practice. Chris Thompson helped tremen­dously, too. Both these assistants were new to me and I to them!” said the coach. “Then Danny Ford, who played for me back in 2007, came in as a volunteer assistant as often as he could.”

Jorgenson expressed deep grat­itude for their dedication and hard work, saying, “Really, a great credit goes to those guys, along with my appreciation and the kids’ appreci­ation.”

He also praised the teachers and parents for their flexibility and sup­port through the many schedule changes.

“Every parent wants to come, and they had to adjust their schedules,” Jorgenson noted. “Teachers also had their end-of-year agendas, and they had to scramble with us. It felt like our program was truly appreci­ated by both teachers and parents, and I really appreciate that.”

The rescheduling and unpredict­able season made it tough for the Vikings to find a solid rhythm, re­sulting in a 1-13 end of regular sea­son record. But Jorgenson feels the true victories were found in many other ways.

“It was a great, great season,” he said. “There was a lot of adversity, and they never stopped. They never, never lost their enthusiasm before a game. Yesterday, they played high­er than a kite — with their whole hearts.”

This season, the Vikings showed remarkable persistence, unwaver­ing perseverance, and inspiring re­silience in every game they played.

“In the end, it’s just respect for the game, the effort of playing to­gether, sticking together, learning from failure, and accepting it,” Jorgenson said. “Stress plays a big role, too. When you have so many close games, how do you manage to play your best when you’re under a great deal of stress?”

He added, “In that regard, I think it was a year that they’ll look back on fondly, returning as alumni with great memories of their baseball season. I really believe that’s true.”

Heading into the playoffs, the coach said the team was looking forward to the challenge with plen­ty of optimism.

“We have the skills. We just have to put it all together, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Jorgenson has high hopes for the future of the program as he watch­es the younger players develop and grow.

“I’m just looking forward to these 6th, 7th, and 8th graders growing. I mean, I’ve watched so many kids grow that I can just see these really great young men on the way up and who will one day become really fine adult men and maybe baseball will help them in that process,” he said.

And he’s glad to have a great view of it all. When a player once asked him if he was going to retire from coaching and get season tickets to the Twins, he replied, “I have a way better seat here.”

Jorgenson plans to stay right where he is for a long time to come.

“I’m grateful that I’ve had this op­portunity for all these years and that I’m still welcome to be the coach here at Cook County High School,” said Jorgenson. “In a school like this, it’s like a big family and it’s pretty rewarding to work in a situa­tion like this.”