Minnesota Blizzard Baseball

Awards: Voted 2020 Blue gLove by his teammates on 13U Blue

Parents: Ben & Abbey (Always great interactions with Ben. I truly enjoy watching many of the dads coach the association teams in the summer as you can learn a lot from them by how they coach and interact with the boys. When Gavin and I watched Ben coach River Falls in the State Tournament he is very level headed, speaks well to the boys, understands the game and is aggressive. During the Blizzard games like so many you can see his brain working overtime during the day. The hardest part is going from coaching to a fan in the stands. Abbey is fantastic – I always feel like I’m running into her everywhere I go. This past summer in Omaha, River Falls was in Slumpbusters and her team was at the same hotel as (Tri’s/Connelly’s). We had met up prior to going down to a World Series game and I got to visit with her and hear how her summer was going. She is always pleasant and supportive of the boys.

History: Consistent, dependable, steady, does his job – all words that describe Chase. In my opinion he is an under the radar player as he is not flashy, isn’t going to hit a mammoth bomb but boy is he one of the most consistent players over the past three years. What he does is his job, day in and day out. His teammates can always count on Chase to make the play in the big spots. He’s got “ice in his veins” as some would say it. A true utility that can play everywhere, however you will typically find Chase at short or on the mound in bracket play (he catches very well when asked). On the mound Chase is going to pound and I mean pound the zone with his fastball and mix in off speed to keep the hitters off balance. Last year on 13 Blue he pitched the first bracket game in just about every tournament and let's just say he never lost. At the plate he always hits first or second (preference is second). He uses a slight crouch and sprays the ball all over the field with constant barrels. Once on the base paths, he has good speed but is also an extremely intelligent base runner (you can’t sleep on him – he will steal the base when you start day dreaming). Besides all of his ability on the baseball field he can be a therapist in the dugout. When I was grabbing pics this fall from the dugout one of his teammates was not hitting the ball the way they are accustomed to and was sitting on the bench. Chase walked right up to him and said some of the best things, you need to relax up there, the hits will come, you are pressing, we are a really good team you don’t have to do it all yourself. It was such a great moment and demonstrates the kind of teammate Chase is to recognize the player needed some positive reinforcement.

Fun Fact: Chase is the ultimate outdoors man. He is an avid hunter and fisherman. In his few weeks off between his River Falls season and the start of fall Blizzard he was at the boundary waters slaying some giant fish. He was able to shoot a turkey this past May in the Black Hills in SD. When I saw the picture of him sleeping after an exhausting hunt it was the subtle reminder that all these boys aren’t invincible. Chase is a high motor kid, intense and even he gets tired.