Coaching youth baseball a fun learning experience for teens

By Audrey Posten | Times-Register

It wasn’t uncommon to see teenagers Jacob Schellhorn and Jaron Wille on the baseball field this summer. Schellhorn started at shortstop for the MFL MarMac baseball team and was one of its top pitchers, while Wille was his battery mate behind home plate.

But on weekends, one could spot the now-seniors in the dugout too, coaching the next generation of players on the Northeast Iowa Mudd Puppies 13U team.

To-be eighth graders from MFL MarMac and surrounding schools made up the 13U team that played in games and tournaments through the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA). A younger 11U group was coached by Schellhorn’s father, Jeremy, who started the Northeast Iowa Mudd Puppies and also operates The Rake baseball and softball academy in Monona.

With the family’s interest in baseball, Schellhorn said it was only natural that he started coaching a season ago. He brought best friend Wille on board in 2024.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” acknowledged Wille, “but I really love the game of baseball, so decided to try it.”

It was a big time commitment for the two, when practice started in early February and games in late April and early May. Schellhorn and Wille were wrapping up the  school year and preparing for their own high school baseball season, which included a game—or doubleheaders—nearly every weekday during the first part of the summer.

The Mudd Puppies filled their weekends, often at tournaments hours away.

“We were traveling all over the place. The competition is better the farther you go,” Schellhorn said. “I give a lot of credit to my dad because he helped with a lot of our practices, at least he’d start them and we could come at any point.”

Fitting it all in “was hard,” said Wille. “I like to do a lot of stuff on the weekends, and that was pretty much all taken away when I started coaching.”

Schellhorn said it was worth it, though, and sometimes a respite from his own playing.

“If we had a rough week with baseball, I would say, ‘I know these guys are going to play well. I can go and teach them the game and keep competing,’” he shared.

The coaches focused on fundamentals for the 13U players. 

“Teaching the game is the biggest thing,” Schellhorn said. “Down on the hands and knees, fielding balls.”

He described himself as the talker of the two, while Wille was the more laidback coach. They said being four to five years older than the players makes them relatable, but they also have to be respected leaders.

“It was fun, but a little frustrating sometimes,” Wille said. “They’re only 13, so they like to do whatever they want to sometimes, and you have to put them in their place.”

“You have to find that fine line,” added Schellhorn. “You want them to stay relaxed and have fun with their team, but also we’re traveling to Cedar Rapids, Des Moines. When you’re on the field, you’re representing the Mudd Puppies and have to focus. They did really well.”

The 13U team began the summer in the USSSA AA division and, after starting 9-1 and out-scoring their opponents 100-19, moved up to the AAA division. While in this division, the boys won the Cornshuckers tournament and earned a spot in the USSSA AAA ELITE division at the Iowa state tournament. They finished the season ranked 14th in the state in the USSSA AAA division.

“It was cool watching them compete,” Schellhorn said. “AA level is pretty good, but AAA is even better. We were playing better competition.”

The players did especially well adjusting to pitching, where opponents were consistently throwing in the low- to mid-70s. 

“Even for the Upper Iowa Conference, that’s pretty good. And they’re closer. They throw at 55 feet and high school is 60 feet,” Schellhorn said. “We taught the guys that, no matter who is pitching, you’ve got to go up there with confidence. None of them were scared of how hard they were throwing.”

Wille echoed that. “They accomplished many things and got fundamentally better,” he said. “They’ll be ready for the high school field this coming year.”

Schellhorn and Wille were once Mudd Puppies themselves, and at the high school level, are seeing the benefits of that experience. When MFL MarMac played in a sub-state game in Cedar Falls in 2023, they were already accustomed to a bigger stage, having won a state championship as youth.

“You get that experience then,” against tough competition, Schellhorn noted. “Maybe these kids don’t understand that now, but when they get to our age, they’ll understand we’ve already been in this situation.”

The coaches said working with you has helped them too. 

Wille, for example, has learned how to better talk to young kids and teach them—versus tell them—what to do.

“You can’t just tell them what to do because they don’t understand it. You have to teach them for them to be successful at it in the future. It’s helped with my baseball knowledge too,” he shared.

Schellhorn gained valuable knowledge reading the ball. If a ball drops, going from first to third, or if it bounces away, telling the runner to head for second base. Even situations like when to steal and not steal.

“Little things like that transfer over to the high school field,” he said.

The two credited the players, and their parents, for putting in the time and having faith in them as coaches.

“You have two 17 and 18 year olds coaching your sons. Probably at the beginning, they were like, ‘Oh, we’ve got these kids,’” Schellhorn said, “but it’s been a lot of fun, and you can see how much better the kids are getting.”