By MIKE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
OSHKOSH - Rosholt's Ryan Zdroik and coach Jack Brooks got a chance to play ball with the best in the state last weekend in the Wisconsin State Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Classic.
Zdroik, a four-time All-Central Wisconsin Conference player for the Hornets, was one of 72 players from around the state selected to play in the two-day Classic held at E.J. Schneider Field in Oshkosh.
For Zdroik, who is attending Waukesha Area Technical College in the fall and will play baseball, it was a great experience to be around the state's top players.
"You just go out there and play your best because everybody's going to be just as good as you, if not better, every inning out there," Zdroik said.
That also meant seeing the state's top pitchers too. "The pitchers were all awesome. They were all throwing in the upper 80s and low 90s.
"I haven't seen that fast of a pitcher all year. It took a while to get used to it. The last game I hit the best of the weekend."
Zdroik, who played on the North team that was coached by Brooks, had a single down the third baseline in the third game for his only hit in the three game Classic. He also nearly hit a home run in the final game, drilling a long fly ball to the centerfield fence, 402 feet away from home plate.
In his first game, he was 0-2 at the plate and then was 0-1 with a walk in the second game. The North team lost its first game 7-2 to the South and was edged by the West 3-2 in the second game. The North then routed the East 13-2 in the third game.
On the field, Zdroik played second base in the first two games before moving over to first base in the final game. "In college, I'll probably play first or third because I'm too big for second base," Zdroik said.
Brooks, who led Rosholt to eight conference titles in his 14 years at the school, was invited to be one of three coaches for the North team. He joined Bill Brunker of Winneconne and Bob Frankenberg of Little Chute and the three each spent a game as bench coach, first base coach and third base coach.
For Brooks, it was the first time coaching in the Classic. SPASH coach George Roman coached in 1999 and 1988 and Amherst's Bill Schweitzer coached in 1988 too.
"Every kid there was a class act," Brooks said. "They were very nice coaches, very nice people.
"All of the kids are really great players. They're really nice guys to work with. It's quite the experience for the players and the coaches."
Brooks and his fellow coaches had to get to know the players quickly. The team didn't hold any practices and literally met each other an hour before the first game.
"We had a meeting about an hour before the game and then we went out there and started playing," Brooks said. "So when you pick the lineups, you almost drew them out of a hat. You knew what some of the kids could do, but the only one I really knew was Ryan."
But Brooks said he got to know the players and the players jelled as the three games progressed. "For not knowing each other, they came together really well," he said.
Although the players came from different size high schools and will play at different levels of baseball next year, Zdroik said it made no difference.
"It didn't really matter once we got there. Everybody's there to play baseball. Nobody cared where they were from or where they were going. They were just there to play ball," he said.
Zdroik, who found out he was elected to play in the game in May, said having Brooks as a coach "helped a little bit having somebody down there that you knew."
That soon changed. While he said he played against a couple of guys on his team at a camp in Stevens Point, he didn't know anyone well. "I recognized a couple of faces (at the start) but we got to know each other better," he said.
Zdroik and Brooks are the first representatives from Rosholt to be involved in the 17-year history of the All-Star Classic. "Rosholt's known as a baseball town," Zdroik said. "To be the first one, it's nice, but I hope to see more players get down there in the future."
Brooks said he wouldn't hesitate to coach there again. "I'm glad I did. It's a great experience," he said. "I'd like to do it again someday if I get the opportunity."