18-year head man credits community, school, family for support
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
And Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor, [email protected]
When Scott Staude took over the reigns of Burlington High School’s baseball program 18 years ago, the coach already faced a challenge, but he finally snagged the elusive WIAA Division 1 state baseball title last week.
“When I first started at Burlington, our numbers were very low throughout the program,” he said. “It took some time to build up the program to have three teams, varsity, junior varsity and freshman.”
After seven years of building a foundation, Staude, and the Demons baseball team had a chance at a state title in 2005, but lost.
It took more than a decade before the school saw another opportunity.
Throughout those 11 years, Staude, 43, refused to give up, taking pride in the sport and teaching at BHS.
“I think there are always times in your profession that you get frustrated and you question that what you are doing is the right way of doing things,” Staude said. “I never wanted to give up because I love teaching and coaching the great game of baseball.”
During his years under the helm, he always looked to multiple mentors as inspiration to continue, including former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball coach Jim Miller.
Miller, who recently passed away, spent decades as coach of the Warhawks and gave Staude lessons on how to commit to the future.
“(He) taught me the importance of building relationships with your players, coaches, and the community,” Staude said.
Additionally, the BHS community stayed committed to him for nearly two decades, starting with former football coach and athletic director Don Dalton, who hired him in 1999.
Along with Dalton, former athletic director Eric Burling and new athletic director Eric Plitzuweit continued to offer assurance that he was coaching the right way.
“All three are tremendous leaders that have always taught me to always do things the right way,” said Staude, adding Demons’ basketball coach Steve Berezowitz to the list of supporters. “(He) has been a positive influence and a colleague who has always been there for me through the successful and challenging years.”
With a strong core of supporters, his coaching staff and periods of success, Staude felt it was necessary to stay in Burlington.
“We have had some great teams and players over the years, but finding consistency year in and year out is a challenge for most coaches,” he said. “I have a great coaching staff to work with and their dedication to our program has made it easy for me to want to continue to be the best.”
Entering the 2016 season, Staude saw something in his Demons squad that set them apart from any other team in his previous 17 years, confidence and a strong bond.
“The players we have this year have a confidence and swagger to them,” he said. “This permeates throughout the whole program. These players have had success in baseball starting at the little league level.”
However, the question remained, can the confident squad who has grown up together make school history against a difficult team like Arrowhead?
The question was answered at Neurosciences Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium last week, but it took patience and perseverance for the Demons squad to topple the Warhawks.
“The more years you coach, you realize just how hard it is to win a state title,” he said. “It takes just the right players and a little bit of luck to go your way.”
Down by four runs with two frames left, Burlington charged back, taking the lead and securing the school’s first state baseball championship.
The moment was picture perfect for Staude, who has a career 219-177 record, and is not just indicative of the current team, but the community.
“It makes it seem like a movie script,” he stated. “Winning the state baseball title has been an amazing feeling. It brings back fond memories of all of the great players who have played for us the past 18 years.”
“They helped build this program to where it is today.”
While he reflects on the years of struggles, he still demonstrated Demon pride, raising his two daughters, 13-year-old Brennan and Gracelyn, 10 to be Burlington fans.
“They all enjoy sports and are huge Demon Baseball fans,” he said, noting that he’s been married to his college sweetheart, Nicole, for 17 of those 18 years.
Add his parents, Jerry and Patti, to the mix, and he has an invaluable support group.
The “other” guys
Staude’s staff at the state tournament included longtime assistants Ryan Hoffman, Brian Horn and Tom Krause, along with newcomers Bob Lee, Griffin McLaughlin, Andy Sireno and Ben Hendricks.
Lee is a pitching coach, and he played in the Milwaukee Braves organization in the 1950s.
“I knew we needed someone, he graciously said yes, and it’s been good,” Staude said. “He knows the game. He’s been around the game for 60 years.”
For Lee, contributing to a high school baseball team was a way to carry on the legacy of his wife, Natalie, who passed away last year after 58 years of marriage.
Lee coached with Catholic Central baseball in the 1990s, when the Hilltoppers won three state championships.
A Kenosha native, Lee was part of the Bradford High School’s 1954 state runner-up squad.
Staude asked Lee if he was returning next year, and the 79-year-old wasn’t sure.
“At 80 years old, the WIAA may have a rule I can’t be on the field,” Lee joked. “They’re a great group of kids. They believed in me, and I never told them to had to do anything.”
The Demons finished 25-5 overall, and the staff ERA was an impressive 2.70.
Lee stressed mechanics, specifically balance point, with fireballers like Jacob Lindemann and Aaron Mutter.
“Most high school pitchers get their upper body ahead of their lower body, but you want to use your back leg as your power leg,” Lee said.
An example was Cal Tully, who made a subtle change thanks to Lee.
The result?
Tully saved the day with two hits allowed over 5 1/3 innings in the state title victory.
“I was watching Cal a few weeks ago, and I noticed he was smothering the ball,” Lee said. “He put the ball out on his fingertips, and he started feeling good wrist action. He threw harder. Nothing rattles him. We brought him in at the end of games.”
“In the state title game, everything was down.”
Hoffman started at Burlington a year before Staude in 1998 and was a baseball standout in the early 1990s.
Hoffman went on to pitch at UW-Whitewater.
He brings knowledge to hitters and pitchers and also maintains the field at Beaumont.
“Ryan is Mr. Burlington baseball,” Staude said. “He played here and had a lot of success. It doesn’t matter where you play, he works with you.”
Horn was a standout at UW-Oshkosh, and Staude said he specializes in defense.
He was a four-year starter for the Titans.
A Muskego native, Horn strategizes where to align the defense and is a master of scouting reports.
Staude and Krause are both Jefferson natives.
Krause was hired 18 years ago in a restaurant, Staude said.
“I made him sign a napkin saying he would help me coach,” Staude said. “He’s been with me ever since, he’s been our JV coach.”
Krause and McLaughlin coach the junior varsity, while Sireno and Hendricks lead the JV 2 team.
“JV coaches are really the bedrock of the foundation,” Staude said. “They stabilize things, they teach the same philosophies and do what we do on varsity.”
“For the first two weeks, we all practice together.”
Staude said the coaching staff is full of his “best friends.”
“They helped me out at state all the time, and I’m fortunate to have them.”
Hoffman stresses fun
For Hoffman, state glory has finally come. Hoffman teaches in Racine, and the 38-year-old often makes the 30-mile trip to Burlington during the spring and summer baseball seasons.
The head man of the Burlington Barons, Hoffman is a 1996 BHS graduate. He’s been around successful Demons teams, but he said today’s game is a different animal.
“In the whole community, the level of coaching has gotten better throughout the years,” Hoffman said. “Kids are learning more technical skills. It’s hard for kids to be three-sport athletes now, but it was common in the 1990s.”
“If you want to compete at the varsity level, you have to hit and throw and work on your skills all winter.”
Hoffman said the Demons get after it and play baseball as much as they can.
In general, Hoffman said he tries to keep kids loose through communication. He said he listens if the kids need an extra guy to talk to, and he strategizes with pitchers and catchers before games.
On the day of the state championship game, last Thursday, Hoffman said the players were loose and having fun all day. They played miniature golf, drove bumper cars and goofed around with the coaches’ kids.
“It was a busy week,” Hoffman said. “But it was good. It was almost like being a professional team.”
Like most of the players, Hoffman knew the Demons had a chance to pull of their improbable comeback.
“While it’s frustrating, you’re still positive because you’re hitting balls so hard,” he said. “But the guys had so much confidence. Even Aaron Mutter, who started the day badly on the mound, ended up being intentionally walked late in the game.”
“He hit one off the wall in the third inning. Going back, every time Aaron didn’t drive in a run, Dale (Damon) always did.”
It was a storybook ending to one of the best seasons in Demon baseball history.
And Saturday’s championship parade was icing on the cake.
“What a turnout, and what a great thing for the city,” Hoffman said.
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