Baseball
Coaching Staff
Meet the Coaches
Varsity
Mike Smith
Head Varsity Coach mike.smith@totinograce.org
Mike is a TG alum, class of 1990. While at TG he was lucky enough to play for Hall of Fame Coach, Ned Thompson. His next stop was Mankato State University (now called Minnesota State, Mankato) where he played baseball and earned a degree in Life Science Education. Hired to teach and coach, Smith came back to TG in the fall of 1995 as a teacher and soccer, girls basketball, and 9th grade baseball coach. 29 years later, he is the Activities/ Transportation Director.
Tom Imdieke
Varsity Assistant
lds.tomimdieke@gmail.com
Tom attended Melrose High School and graduated in 1979, attending college at St. Thomas. Tom has been a baseball instructor for 40 years working with local players that have landed at all sorts of levels, including six that have played Major League Baseball. Three of those players are currently playing in the MLB. With the help of his family, he owned and operated Line Drive Sports from 2002 to 2017. Tom and his son, Ethan (a TG graduate) ran the Tri City Shark Amateur baseball team for 13 years and made the State Tournament in seven of those years with a best finish of 2nd place in 2016. Coach Imdieke has coached baseball at many different levels and in the summer of 2017, he led the TG 15AAA summer team to the State Championship.
Michael Barnes
Varsity Assistant
barnes8m@gmail.com
Michael moved to Minnesota in 2022. After graduating from Sussex Hamilton HS (Wisconsin) in 2015, he attended Ripon College and was the starting catcher for four years. He was a three-time all-conference selection, and was named Midwest Conference Player of the Year in 2019, and earned All-American recognition. After graduating, he was the graduate assistant coach at Wisconsin Lutheran College where he coached the Warriors baseball team and earned his Master’s degree. Michael really enjoys coaching baseball and basketball, but also referees and umpires in both sports.
JV
Jerry Gooley
JV Head Coach/Varsity Assistant
Jerry is a 2018 graduate from Maple Grove High School where he played baseball and basketball. After high school he went to The College of Saint Scholastica in Duluth to play baseball. He majored in Elementary Education, and is now a 3rd grade teacher at Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale. He is still playing baseball today for the Champlin Park Logators as a pitcher and outfielder.
Mike Marsnik
JV Assistant/Varsity Assistant
Sophmore
Peter Hennen
Sophomore/JV Coach
hennen45@yahoo.com
Peter attended Champlin Park High School and graduated in 2003. He then earned a degree in Business Management at St. Scholastica. Currently Peter is a manager at Walgreen’s. He began his coaching career in the Babe Ruth leagues of Coon Rapids and has been a member of the TG staff for the past decade.
Freshman
Ryan Ferkinhoff
Freshmen Coach
ryan.ferkinhoff@totinograce.org
Ryan comes to us from the neighboring St. Anthony Village High School where he graduated in 2011. He had an outstanding high school career, including a State Baseball Championship with the Huskies. His next stop was at Hamline University where he played four years of football and earned a BA in Mathematics and Secondary Education. Coach Ferkinhoff has done a lot of coaching in his young career including football and girls basketball at TG, basketball at Mounds View, and baseball at both St. Anthony and Centennial. He currently teaches math at TG and will hopefully be an Eagle for many years to come.
Seth Pugh
Head Freshmen Coach
seth.pugh@srsmn.org
Seth is a 2000 graduate of Totino-Grace High School, where he played football and baseball. He went to Saint Mary's University in Winona, MN, graduating in 2004, earning a liberal arts degree. While at Saint Mary's, he played baseball for four years, three years as the starting catcher for the Cardinals. Seth has been coaching baseball at Totino-Grace since 2007 as well as Head Legion coach for the Eagles since 2013. He also has coached 9th grade football since 2011 as the Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator. He has been a 3rd grade teacher at Saint Raphael Catholic School, his alma mater since 2012, where he is the head girls basketball coach as well.
Program Information and Philosophy
Program Philosophy
It is the philosophy of the baseball program that all co-curricular programs are truly extensions of the classroom. God, family, and academics are the first priority of all members of our program; baseball is next in line. Baseball is a game where discipline, hardwork, teamwork, ability to handle adversity, attitude, respect, and attention to detail can all be learned and practiced. These and other life skills will be carried forward throughout life and help with the future of all people. By learning and working on these skills we are hoping to help develop good friends, sons, brothers, etc. and good baseball players. Our players and coaches should realize just how lucky we are to have that time together to put away the cell phones, emails, and other distractions that we are surrounded with. Cherish that time to develop into better people and better baseball players. Click HERE to review the complete Eagle Baseball Philosophy Statement.
Coaches Expectations
Parent Expectations
Player Expectations
Off-Season Information
Totino-Grace offers a number of summer baseball teams:
9th grade - 15AAA team, tryouts take place in February
10th grade - VFW team comprised of sophomore TG Eagle baseball players
11th & 12th grade - Legion team, tryouts take place in April or early May
Development Programs
Totino-Grace Strength & Conditioning Summer Camp
TG Weightlifting Club
Arm/Shoulder Screening
Line Drive Training
Complete Game Training
Craig Anderson Ethics in Coaching Award
Photo credit: Official Twitter Page for the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association
Mike Smith, TG Graduate ‘90, varsity baseball head coach, was presented with the 2019 Craig Anderson Ethics in Coaching Award from the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association. The award is given to a Minnesota high school baseball coach who has displayed ethics in coaching and teaching the game of baseball. The honoree displays class, integrity, character, and respect for the game, the players, the spectators, and the officials.
Baseball Slideshow
