The Blue Wave will field six full-time teams for the 2012-2013 season. Our staff includes the following individuals:
9U Kaley Jendraszak
This will be Coach Jendraszak's first year coaching with the Blue Wave. Kaley is a 2011 graduate of Lincoln-Way East HS where she was a senior captain thirdbaseman, earning all-conference honors as a junior and a senior. She is currently the starting thirdbaseman at the University of St. Francis, where she earned all-conference honors last season as a freshman. Kaley can be reached at Coach Kaley.
10U Keith Bauer
This will be Coach Bauer's third year coaching 10U with the Blue Wave. He has coached travel baseball for nine years at the Elite level with many former players receiving college scholarships. Keith believes at the 10U level its all about developing the girls and teaching them the strategies and techniques they need to eventually play at the high school level and beyond. In 2010 and 2011 our 10U Black team won National bids to ASA, NSA and USSSA post-season tournaments. In 2012 our team played in the championship game in 6 of their 9 tournaments. They finished with a 28-11 record in tournament play, including going 4-2 in the NSA Nationals. Coach Bauer is looking forward to an even bigger and better future as the younger players from the 10U Blue and 10U Black teams will join forces and enjoy their final 10U season against A competition. Keith has one daughter on the 16U Blue Wave team and will continue coaching his youngest daughter at the 10U level. Keith will be assisted in 2013 by Jason Tinman, who led our 10U Blue team in 2012 and Tammy Zawacki who was an assistant coach on our Blue team. Keith can be reached at Coach Bauer.
11U John Abell
John has been coaching girl’s softball for six years. He was an assistant coach for two years and a manager for two years at the in-house level. Ten of the twelve girls from his in-house team went on to play full or part time travel softball. He has been an assistant travel coach for the last two years, spending the 2012 season with the 10U Blue team. He has also coached his son’s baseball teams. John and his coaches, Joe Spillie and Chuck Niemeier, will continue to instill and enhance fundamentals, good sportsmanship and a strong sense of teamwork to develop a solid 11U team. The 11U Blue Wave plans on playing 11U tournaments and mixed 12U tournaments as well as participating in the 11U I-80 league and games with local teams.
Assistant Coach Joe Spillie has played softball for several years and was a coach on the 10U Black team in 2012.
Assistant Coach Chuck Niemeier has coached softball on the 10U Blue team, boy’s baseball, football, and wrestling. Coach Abell can be reached at Coach Abell.
12U Dick Visin
Dick joined the Blue Wave for the 2012 season after a long career with the Illinois Angels as our two organizations merged their combined resources. A long-time travel and varsity high school coach, Dick looks forward to working with Assistant Coach Terry Germany to restart our 12U squad with players eager to make their mark on the Blue Wave and throughout the Lincoln-Way area. With his experience helping players through the college recruiting experience, Dick will look to provide the older Blue Wave players with the fundamentals they need to excel at the 12U level and beyond. Dick can be reached at Coach Visin.
13U Bob Bauer
Bob has coached softball for the past 8 years, with each of his teams enjoying winning seasons. His 2010 and 2011 Lockport teams placed all of their girls on their high school teams. For the 2013 season, the 13U team will play in Open and A tournaments and the I-80 league, with an expectation to earn and accept a post-season bid. He will focus on team development, and is looking for players that show their commitment to individual improvement by dedicating the necessary time to private pitching and hitting lessons. Bob will be assisted both by Mike Doman, who brings a successful track record of 4 championship seasons in 6 years of coaching in-house in New Lenox, and by Natalie Ward, a junior at the University of St. Francis. Natalie led the St. Francis squad in hitting as a starting left fielder her freshman year, earning all-conference honors. As a high school player, she set the home run record at Marian Catholic. Bob's daughter plays on the 13U team, and he can be reached at Coach Bauer.
16U Lexie Vernon
Lexie has been with the Blue Wave since the 2007 season, when she was the head coach for our 14U team and an assistant coach of our 16U team. She continued as a coach at the 14U level through the 2010 season, served as head coach for the 2011 16U Black team, and helped finish the season as head coach of the 2012 12U team. She has four former players now playing collegiately. She will lead the 16U team through the summer season. Her playing experience includes 4 years as a member of the Lewis University Softball team and Team Captain as a Senior. She graduated in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Athletic Training. She was a 4-time academic All-GLVC and 4-time recipient of the David Delahanty Award for Academic Excellence as a Student Athlete. In high school, she was a 4-year varsity starter at Lincoln-Way East High School and Team Captain as a Senior. She played travel ball for the Crete Quest for 8 years. She is on staff at Knox College in the Athletic Training Department and recently earned a master's degree in sport management at Western Illinois University. Lexie can be reached at Coach Lexie.
