PREP BASEBALL: NorthWood's Risedorph thankful for All-Star experience

Jun. 28—AJ Risedorph knew he'd be one of the coaches for the North-South All-Star Game this year.

The news of him being the head coach, though, came as a total shock to the NorthWood skipper.

Risedorph said he'll never forget where he was when Brian Abbott, the executive director of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA), called him in April and asked him to be the leader of the North All-Star team.

The NorthWood coach just finished coaching the team this past weekend, with the North losing two of three games to the South All-Stars.

"I can tell you exactly where I was," recalled Risedorph of the phone call he received from Abbott in April. "I was here at (NorthWood), and I was in our weight room getting a little lift in. I got that call and said, 'Ooh, I can't ignore this one.' And he called to just ask about coaching in general, and it was like I was on cloud nine. It's just such a great honor and truly humbling to do that."

Risedorph compared the experience to what the Indiana basketball all-stars do when they play the best from Kentucky every year in a summer series.

"Growing up in Indiana, basketball is kind of king," Risedorph said. "Going and watching those all-stars play against Kentucky, that's something, from a basketball level, that you always went to. And then, with baseball being my sport and understanding how much our sport is growing and how successful our kids have been going on to the next level — this is probably one of the greatest honors as a coach, to be able to go coach future MLB draft picks."

Risedorph first met the entire team on Friday during a practice at Indiana Wesleyan University, where the games were played. The group then held a team meeting back at the hotel before attending the year-end awards banquet held by the IHSBCA.

Two games were played Saturday. The North all-stars won game one in dramatic fashion, as Westfield's Keaton Mahan crushed a walk-off grand slam to win the contest, 10-6. The South all-stars then responded with a 16-8 win the second game.

Sunday's game was a different setup, as the teams used wood bats instead of the traditional aluminum bats used in high school games. The South team ended up edging the North, 4-3, in the contest to win the best-of-three series.

Despite being on the losing end, North All-Star Owen Willard from Eastside was named MVP of the weekend. Willard went 4-for-7 across the three games and also recorded six strikeouts in the two innings he pitched in game one of the series.

Joining Risedorph on the North coaching staff was Manchester's Jack Rupley, Eastside's Aaron Willard, Hamilton Heights' Ryan VanOeveren and Oak Hill's Eric Emery.

The weekend also proved to be special for more than just one Risedorph, as AJ's younger brother, Brayden (an East Noble graduate), was on the North team's roster. It was the first time AJ had ever coached his brother, creating a memory neither will soon forget.

"Growing up, I was always playing against him, whether it be wiffle ball in the backyard or in video games like Call of Duty," AJ Risedorph said. "I was always competing against the kid, so this was the first time coaching him. It was fun."

The NorthWood coach kept going back to one word when asked to describe what he took away from the all-star experience.

"Just thankfulness, honestly," Risedorph said. "There are some talented kids out here with their approach to game. But probably just thankfulness and the honor to be able to go do it and coach in the game. I'd be dumb not to thank (former NorthWood athletic director) Norm Sellers for giving me this opportunity. It really started with him, giving me this chance to be able to coach at NorthWood to begin with. Without this opportunity at NorthWood, I wouldn't have been able to have the opportunity to coach in the North-South game. Just very thankful to that.

"And I'm thankful to my wife (Jenna) for allowing me to be able to use baseball as a mission. Really, thankfulness is something you gain from this experience."

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.