We are excited to announce our 2023-2024 head coaches!
Along with many familiar faces, we have two new faces that are a HUGE addition to the program.
The 12U GOLD team will be coached by TONY YOUNG for the second year in a row. Tony has over 15 years of coaching experience, both at the club and high school level. He has a niche for teaching the younger groups the importance of dedication, hard work, and game sense. We are so fortunate to have Tony on staff. His daughter, DELANEY YOUNG, has many accolades as a former Park High School graduate, but also as a 2019 DII NCAA National Champion along with coach Christina Pickett at Augustana University.
TOM THOLE will be coaching the 14U GOLD team again next year. This is his fourth year in the program but has coached for 17 years at the high school level between North St. Paul and Hill-Murray high school. We are so lucky to have him back to teach the fundamentals of the game!
Our two new faces, BOB LOSHEK and BRAD HORSTMAN will be leading the 14U NATIONAL team. Between the two, they have almost 5 decades of coaching experience! Bob Loshek is starting his 15th year as the head coach at Park High School and has coached at the club level for many years. He also played men’s fastpitch for 28 years! Brad Horstman was the assistant coach at St. Thomas University under legend John Tschida for over 20 years, coaching with Loshek for a few of those seasons. Both Loshek and Horstman will be adding so much knowledge and experience to our coaching staff!
Next up, our 15U NATIONAL team will be coached by CHRISTINA PICKETT. Christina was part of the inaugural MN Magic team in 2010, led by her dad, RICK PICKETT. She went to high school at East Ridge and later played at Augustana University. She has almost 7 years of club coaching and training under her belt and is excited to get back on the field after taking a year off.
As expected, our 16U NATIONAL team will be coached by BOB BARTEL and JIM RUBBELKE. The duo has been a part of the Magic program for 10 years. Outside of club ball, Bob is starting his 20th season as head coach of the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears (DII), while Jim is starting his 17th year as head coach at Hamline University (DIII). Both Bob and Jim have many collegiate coaching accolades and are a huge part of our club program’s success. They are phenomenal at coaching the mental and strategic part of the game, preparing players for the next level.
The 16U GOLD team will be coached by JENNA RUBBELKE. Not only did she play in the Magic program growing up, she has been coaching in the program for 3 years. She is the daughter of Jim and brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and energy to the program. She currently attends Hamline University and plays both volleyball and softball.
Last but not least, our director, RICK PICKETT, and LAURA HEISE will coach the 18U NATIONAL team. Rick has coached club ball since 2002 and started the Magic in 2010. In addition to club ball, he is the hitting coach at Concordia St. Paul. As the glue of our program, Rick excels at teaching hitting and the strategic part of the game. Laura is starting her 7th year coaching in our program and her 7 years as a college pitching coach. In college, she was a standout player at the College of St. Scholastica, and is a three-time All-American!
Here are our ASSISTANT COACHES.
As a program, we pride ourselves on having qualified coaches and are so thrilled to have such a professional coaching staff at the club level!
If you would like to get the opportunity to play for any of our amazing coaches, here is the link for tryouts. We hope to see you there!