“All coaches have a passion for the sport they coach,” said Head Baseball Coach Jared Barker who is in his 8th year as head coach for the Tritons. 

Barker started as an assistant coach in 2015 and became head coach in 2017.

Baseball had its first official day of practice on Monday, March 13. 

“We have been running open gyms since December which were once a week on Saturdays and for anyone who wanted to come. Upperclassmen lead them,” shared Barker.

For practices, what they can do depends on what spaces are available for them to use. They typically split into two groups after the whole group stretches and warms up. 

“One group starts in the Triton Center and the other starts in the Alumni Gym. The Alumni Gym is set up into five different hitting stations and we rotate through those stations in groups of three to four. We use the Triton Center to work on defensive drills along with conditioning,” said Barker. 

After the groups have been working for 45 minutes, they switch. 

The team emphasizes thinking about the things they can control versus the things they can’t, weather being one of them. 

“It’s a matter of mindset. We have been fortunate enough the past two years to be able to utilize Capital Credit Union Park, home of the Green Bay Rockers Northwoods team, for practice and some games,” said the baseball coach. 

The Rockers’ field is turf and gives the team the opportunity to get on the field more than they would if they only had access to the facility here on NDA’s campus. 

The baseball state championship is played down in Appleton at Neuroscience Group Field at the Fox Cities Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. 

“Our hope is to have a short bus ride down to Appleton in June for the state tournament. We finished one game away from state last season in the sectional final to the defending state champs, Denmark,” said Barker. 

The Tritons’ first game is scheduled to be played Tuesday, March 28, against Appleton West at Capital Credit Union Park. Varsity plays at 4:15 pm and the JV will follow at 6:15 pm.