Jerry Frerichs’ Baseball Biography

NSAA Hall of Fame coach Ronald Peck was another major influence and positive role model in Jerry’s young life.  Ron would spend time with Jerry and his older brother practicing the skills of whatever sport was in season.  In the summers, Claude would pitch to Ron while Jerry would chase his batted balls all over the field in the hopes Ron would pitch a few in the end.  Of course, he always did!  “It was during these sessions that I noticed Ron had a passion for not just playing a game but for perfecting it, I witness his coaching instincts in action.”  Coaches Weinberger and Peck had great influences on Jerry becoming a Coach!

These experiences allowed Jerry to evolve into a well-rounded athlete as he competed in four sports throughout his high school days.  Not having high school baseball, the local Legion Post provided the community’s opportunity to play competitive ball. Jerry played his first Legion game in the Midget division, (Junior’s) at age 13 under the direction of Coach Ron Peck. For the next five summers, Jerry and the boys of Coleridge competed against the likes of Wayne, Crofton, Hartington, Wausau and Laurel for the bragging rights of Northeast Nebraska baseball.  District play usually came down to a battle with Wayne to qualify for the State Legion Tournament.  Wayne was coached by the late Hank Overin.  Hank was veteran coach with great knowledge of the game and his players.  Coleridge was always the underdog in its battles with Wayne.  This underdog role had a great influence on Jerry’s competitive growth as an athlete and coach.

Upon graduation, Jerry went on to attend Wayne State College on an academic scholarship.  He received his teaching degree in in 1976 with a major in Chemistry. While at Wayne, Jerry walked on to the baseball program and made the team as a pitcher in the spring of 1972.  An injury in 73 kept him from playing but in 74 he returned and excelled not as a pitcher but as a Wildcat hitter.  In 1975 and 76 Jerry lead the Wildcats in home runs, RBI’s and average.

Encouraged by Coleridge’s Veterinarian, the late, Doctor Harry P Lortz, Jerry got his first coaching opportunity by returning to Coleridge in the summers of 1974-75 to manage the little league and Legion teams.    The Coleridge players thrived under Coach Frerichs as he instiled a strong work ethic and a disciplined approach to playing the game.  The Coleridge boys finally defeated Coach Overin and the Wayne Bluedevils and advanced to a runner up state finish in 1975.  “Observing the improvements in my players and the satisfaction they experienced, I was hooked, and knew I wanted to continue coaching.  I especially enjoyed the underdog role in defeating Hank Overin, a coach for whom I admired and had great respect!”

Town Team Baseball was still going strong in communities throughout Nebraska in seventies.  Jerry had the opportunity to play with three different teams during his playing career.  From 1972-74 he played for the Coleridge Town Team.  This team, paced by Frerichs brother’s hitting and pitching were Tri-County League runner ups in 1974, losing to Pierce in the best of 5 series.  In 1975 and 76 Jerry joined several Wayne State players, assembled through the efforts of Roger Merkel, and played on a very strong semi-pro team from Hartington.  Hartington competed in the South Dakota League that was affiliated with the National Amateur Baseball Association.  In 1976 the Hartington Braves won the South Dakota State Tournament.

Jerry and his wife Mary Kay, moved to Omaha in the fall of 1976 to begin their working careers.  Jerry’s first teaching job was in Elkhorn and the following summer marked the beginning of a 33-year tenure of Frerichs directed baseball in the growing community.  Still having an urge to play, Jerry joined the Valley Town Team and played in the Dodge County League from 1978 and through 1980.  Growing family responsibilities with young daughters, Manni and Karri, as well as the desire to put more time into coaching and facility development, Jerry hung up his playing spikes after the summer of 1980.  Over the nine seasons of playing competitive baseball including College and Town ball, Jerry never had a season where he hit less than a 300-average.  Each year Jerry could be counted on for suppling power and average in leading his teams offensively.  In three of his nine seasons he finished with averages of over 400 including one in the Dodge County league where he hit 526 with 11 home runs.

“Reflecting back on my playing days I have fond memories of the friendships developed among men sharing the passion for baseball.  I am indebted to the following coaches for believing in me and giving me a chance to compete in our great game: Dale Weinberger (deceased), Ronald Peck, Kelly Calhoun (deceased), Sylvan Olson (deceased), Larry Schultz, Bob Weisenberg, Roger Merkel and John Stanley (deceased).  Most of the teams I played on enjoyed considerable success but in no way do I claim total responsibility for such success. I was a good hitter but was also fortunate to play on teams with many dedicated individuals that shared a competitive passion for winning. What I know for certain is that I progressed to my level of limitations.  Baseball is tough and unforgiving when it comes to failure.  Everyone in their inner self knows when they have met their match.  For example, this realization came to me when trying to hit the sharp breaking slider of Mike Metz in the Nebraska State Semi-Pro tournament or the knee buckling curve from Dan Langer in the Dodge County League!  Out of it all, the most important thing I cherish is the memories forged with the individuals from Wayne State, Coleridge, Hartington, and Valley in playing countless hours of baseball.

Considering my entire baseball life, I realize the contributions I made as a Coach are probably most worthy of recognition for acceptance into a Baseball Hall of Fame.  Two years at Coleridge, 33 at Elkhorn, nine at Omaha Central, one at Tekamah and five in different little league organizations totaling 50 years of service.  The first 35, served in the head coaching role and the last nine as an assistant.  This career involved affiliations with both High School and Legion teams.  The following individuals must be recognized for their longevity in support and assistance throughout my career; Manager; Dr. H.P. Lortz (deceased), Assistant Coaches; Art Fletcher, Mike Gazda, Rod Anderson, Jay Johanek, Jim Auck, Jake Uleman, Don Hasenkamp, Doug Hays, Mike O’Kane, Rick Christmas (deceased), Wayne Wesphpal (deceased), Ethan Anderson, Joe Moylan, Ray Anderson, Todd Kula, Scott Hightower, Alex Anderson, John Friese, Greg Hays, Brad Zach, Jon Christiansen, KJ Belfrage, Mark Hightower, Zach Moore, Brian Richter, Lance Clark, Steve Fry, Josh Snyder and Jake Ritzdorf.  In addition to the coaches that assisted me in Elkhorn, I owe a great deal of thanks to Gerry Kreber for allowing me to assist him at Omaha Central.  With their help and support, I coached or managed teams involved in 17 state competitions resulting in winning nine championships and three runner-up finishes.

Believe it or not most of this success involved working with players in an underdog role.  Certainly, Coleridge was as underdog in achieving a Senior State Runner-Up in 1975.  Today, Elkhorn has a reputation of being a West Omaha power, but in 1977 it had just grown out of the “C” division and was learning to compete in the much tougher “B” class. Many seasons saw Elkhorn lose to great teams from Blair, Wayne, Wakefield, WestPoint, Norris and Pius.  It took over 10 years before Elkhorn competed consistently for top honors in Nebraska Baseball.  The accomplishments highlighting the peak of our success were the 1995 Senior’s and the 2007 High School championships.

The 1995 Seniors dominated the class “B” Area and State Tournaments by powering through all teams compiling a 10-0 record and were set to complete in the all-class playoff with Papillion and Wakefield the following weekend.  The winner of the playoff would travel to Baton Rouge (all expenses paid), to compete in the Legion’s Southern Regional.   At that time, the playoff was conducted in a single day with one team granted a bye to play the winner of the first game.  Both games slated for nine innings.  As luck would have it Wakefield had the bye which matched class “B” champion Elkhorn against class “A” Papillion for a 1:00 o’clock start on a 100 degree day on August 1^st .  Papillion entered the playoff as the class “A” runner-up with a record of 39 and 3.  This was a team that dominated the previous spring season as State Champions and entered the Legion class “A” State tournament the favorite with only one loss.  For sure the Antlers were underdogs in this match up.  Nine innings later, Elkhorn had a 3-0 lead as the Monarchs batted in the bottom of the nineth.  Elkhorn’s Steve Winkler pitched masterfully allowing Papillion only 2 hits in the first eight innings.  In the bottom of the nineth, Winkler gave up a lead off single which put Coach Frerichs in the position of deciding to pull the tiring lefty or let him finish the gem.  Entering the decision was pitching conservation.  If Elkhorn was to make regionals, they would have to go another 9 with Wakefield, assuming they beat Papillion.   Winkler stayed in the game, struck out the next hitter and retired the final two outs on a ground ball and a fly out as Elkhorn defeated Papillion 3 to 1.

The win put Elkhorn in the driver’s seat with momentum against Wakefield, the class “C” champion.   However, the task was not going to be easy.  As mentioned earlier, this was a typical summer day in Columbus Nebraska in early August.  To say it was 100 degrees would be conservative.  The heat index could well have been 105 or higher and this was another 9-inning contest against a seasoned opponent.  Wakefield represented a Northeast Nebraska all-star team that was rested with a college scholarship arm ready to face the Antlers.  The game saw Elkhorn fall behind early but it remained close.  The Antlers tied game in the bottom of the nineth to go into extra innings with a 7-7 score.  Wakefield went ahead scoring a run in the top of the 11^th.  In the bottom half, Elkhorn had the tying run on third and the winning run on second with two outs and Andy Schmidt coming the plate.  It is significant to mention that Andy had the opportunity to bat in this situation.  Andy was Elkhorn’s catcher for both games, which now meant 20 innings behind the plate.   Coach Frerichs recalls Andy’s at bat.  “You could literally see Andy stagger as he walked to the plate, uniform soaked in sweat and dirt smeared into mud from his perspiration.  His white uniform now blotched in black from his catching gear”.  Coach had reason to be optimism for Andy was no easy out and a fierce competitor.  He knew there would be no shortage of courage in this pitcher-hitter show down.  “I could see him shaking as he stepped into the box so I called time out to have a chat and give him a moment to catch his breath.  I looked into his eyes and asked him if he was OK, he looked back and said, “No place I would rather be”, we both kind of laughed and I said well, OK, go get em!  Rest assured Andy’s shaking had nothing to do with nerves and everything to do with heat exhaustion.  As always, Andy had given his all and there was no one I would rather have at the plate in this situation.  Andy took the count to 3 and 2 and after two foul balls struck out on a good slider.  What a day and what a total team effort!  So, Elkhorn stays home, losing to a team they would probably beat 7 out of 10 games if played under conditions of equal rest. Elkhorn finished its greatest summer season at 40 and 9 under Coach Frerichs’ leadership.

In 2007 there was just Elkhorn high in the community and it was a large class “B” school.  High School Baseball consisted of one class which meant winning a school championship required beating the blue bloods of the Metro conference.  The Antlers had quite a district and state tournament run in 2007.  Combined in the two tournaments, Elkhorn finished 7 and 0 beating DC West, Millard North, Westside, Creighton Prep, Grand Island and Millard West twice.  In the span of seven games the Antlers gave up just five runs to claim the only “All Class” High School Baseball Championship won by a non-Metro conference school in NSAA history.

Winning over 800 games and several championships gives a Coach a great sense of satisfaction. However, for me the greatest reward in coaching is not the wins but comes in witnessing the satisfaction a player experiences when buying into the work ethic and focusing on the process which then results in a positive outcome.  In my early days at Elkhorn, success was not measured in wins but was measured in fewer walks by our pitchers, less errors in the field and less strike outs by our hitters per game.  We had little business worrying about the outcome and needless to say winning.  My early days at Elkhorn contain some of my fondest memories in coaching and I believe are probably when I did my best and most important work.  These players eagerly soaked up any information you could give them in an effort to improve.

In conclusion, it is a very special honor when peers, who share your passion, recognize your accomplishments!  I am fortunate to have played and coached with and against great people in the state of Nebraska.  As the saying goes, “Steel sharpens Steel”, and how true it is!  The philosophy I tried to instilled in my players was “Focus on the process rather than the outcome.  If you develop the work ethic to improve, success will naturally follow.”  If I had the choice to pick between a player with the will to win or player with the talent to win, I would pick the player of will over talent nearly every time.  My final recognitions need to go out to my loving wife and best friend of 47 plus years, Mary Kay and my daughters Manni and Karri who were dragged along to nearly every corner of the state watching and supporting me as a player and coach.  For this dedication and support I am forever indebted and love you dearly!  Finally, to Elkhorn Legion Baseball, Thank You for this great honor, it was truly a blessing to have the opportunity to serve as a steward in the greatest sport in the greatest community for all those years!