Baseball the Tool That Brings Together Group of Local Boys

Baseball’s magic pulled a group of boys together as one this summer on a ball diamond in Minooka.

And Wayne Swanson, manager of the Minooka RiverCats 10-under travel team, has learned that’s what the game is all about, really.

“Besides playing together, the kids hung out on and off the field,” he said. “We had great team chemistry with the players and with the team parents. A lot of people here have become good friends.

“Yes, that’s what it’s all about. We’ve talked about it. My experience with my two older sons has taught me winning isn’t the most important thing, not at this level. It’s learning how to play the game correctly and enjoying yourself. If you’re not doing that—not having fun—then you’re wasting the kids’ time.”

Swanson and RiverCats had a bunch of fun en route to winning the conference championship in the I-80 travel league. The RiverCats compiled a record of 28-14-3 overall and 10-0-2 in conference play.

And they did it in a true all-for-one, one-for-all type fashion.

“The nine players we put out there at any given time—whether they were infielders, outfielders, pitchers or catchers—they worked together,” Swanson said. “And I think our strong suit was our defense. Every single kid on the roster had an opportunity to pitch in a game. So, it was a well-rounded sort of thing.”

And the RiverCats’ success started at the top.

Swanson turned to his assistant coaches often for advice and called on them regularly to impart their knowledge. And why not? Two of his assistants—Minooka’s Jeff Petrovic and Serena’s Chad Baker—coach on the varsity ranks at the high school level. And Les Gonzalez has been around the baseball block, too.

Petrovic lives in Shorewood. He attended the University of St. Francis. And he led Minooka to a third-place finish in the rain-shortened Class AA state tournament in 2006.

“I’d tell people all the time, ‘It’s not how many games did you win. It’s the knowledge the coaching staff was bringing to these kids at a young age,’ ” Swanson said. “They have an incredible advantage having coaching like that at this level.

“There never was a time that I made a decision without asking my assistants what they thought. I knew if I was doing something right, they wouldn’t say anything. If not, I also knew they’d let me know. And we were all on the same page. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”

Swanson, a 44-year-old account manager for Coca-Cola, coached his two older boys, Kyle, 17, and Ryan, 13, before hooking up with the RiverCats and his 10-year-old son Casey. His youngest boy, Camden, 6, has yet to officially enroll in T-Ball.

“But he tags along, and he’s learning just as much as he would playing T-Ball,” Swanson said. “I’m going to have to squeeze him in a year or two from now.”

In the meantime, Swanson’s goal is to keep the RiverCats together until all the boys are 12 and eligible to play on the Minooka squad that goes to Cooperstown, N.Y., each year to play in the Field of Dreams tournament and tour Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

“I’ve been out there twice with my older boys,” Swanson said. “I’m lucky. For most, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

He knew coaching the RiverCats was going be an experience of that same kind very early on in a magical season.

“We played in a tournament on Mother’s Day weekend (in early May),” Swanson said. “And we made it to the championship game. Unfortunately, we lost. We came in second place. But I think that experience gave the kids a lot of confidence.

“And you could see that building through the middle and toward the end of the season. They played as confident individuals and continued to improve as a team.”

MINOOKA RIVERCATS ROSTER: Connor Baker, Matt Gjerde, Nick Gonzalez, Ryan Kickels, Jimmy Londergon, Noah Loizon, Matt Nolan, Zach Petrinos, Luke Petrovic, Cole Plese, Casey Swanson, Owen Quast.

MINOOKA RIVERCATS COACHES: Manager—Wayne Swanson; Assistant coaches- Chad Baker, Jeff Petrovic, Les Gonzalez.