Jefferson Baseball

J-Hawk baseball sets golf outing

The Jefferson Alumni Baseball Golf Outing will be held on Saturday, May 4 at the Wildcat Golf Course in Shellsburg.

The outing is a fundraider for the Cedar Rapids Jefferson baseball program.

The cost is $60 person or $240 for a four-person team. The cost will cover green fees, cart, lunch and the entry fee.

There will be a shotgun start at 2 p.m.

All Jefferson baseball alumni and anyone who wants to support Jefferson baseball is welcome.

Contact Jefferson baseball coach Kyle Rodenkirk at: Wilson School, 2301 J St. SW, Cedar Rapids, 52404, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jefferson baseball gets Kernels scoreboard

Players and fans shouldn't have any trouble knowing the score at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School baseball games this season.

The J-Hawks have purchased a scoreboard from the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the city of Cedar Rapids and plan to install it in right-center field for everyone to see.

The scoreboard is 36 feet long and 9 feet high, much bigger than the current board at the high school field in southwest Cedar Rapids.

"It's a beast, that's for sure," said Kyle Rodenkirk, a Jefferson grad who will be the head coach this season. "It will be really neat."

"It's going to be nice, because that little one we have there now malfunctions all the time, so I thought we had to get something that works."

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Rodenkirk gets dream job at Jefferson

Kyle Rodenkirk's cell phone rang at 3:30 Monday afternoon. He hasn't stopped smiling since.

Chris Deam, the athletic director at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, called to see if Rodenkirk wanted to return to his alma mater and become the school's new baseball coach.

Rodenkirk, 28, didn't have to think about it, but he did have to catch his breath.

"It was a pretty quick trigger for me," he said. "I was a little shell-shocked.

"I'm excited and honored."

Rodenkirk was an all-conference catcher at Jefferson and played at Winona State University. He worked as an assistant coach in the Jefferson program and was the head coach at Anamosa High School for two years before serving as an assistant at Linn-Mar this past season.

He called Jefferson his "dream job" during an interview several weeks ago. Now his dream has come true.

Rodenkirk called his wife with the good news, called his parents and called Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner, who encouraged him to pursue the job at Jefferson when Mike Kuba resigned to become an assistant softball coach with the J-Hawks.

"My mind has been going in every which way, trying to think of everything I need to do first," Rodenkirk said.

He plans to meet with Jefferson's assistant coaches from the 2012 campaign as he puts his staff together. He also plans to hold a players meeting and will attend the Kernels Foundation high school baseball tournament this weekend, when he'll proudly wear his Jefferson cap again while watching his J-Hawks play ball.

Rodenkirk said there were several strong candidates for the job. "I knew there was going to be stiff competition going into it," he said, praising the other coaches.

Rodenkirk would like to build a clubhouse for the players at the Jefferson field. He'd also like to install an irrigation system in the outfield.

He said he doesn't prefer a particular style of baseball, as long as it's successful. "I think it all depends on the situation you're in and the type of players you have," he said.

Rodenkirk is a teacher at Wilson Middle School in the Jefferson district.

"Coach Rodenkirk brings a strong knowledge of the game and a great enthusiasm for Jefferson baseball," Deam remarked in a news release. "He is focused on improving Jefferson baseball."

Rodenkirk eyes Jefferson baseball job

Kyle Rodenkirk has big ideas about how to improve the Cedar Rapids Jefferson baseball program.

He'd like to boost the Junior J-Hawk feeder system, build a clubhouse at the field, install a sprinkler system in the outfield, fix the slope behind shortstop, work with the community to increase enthusiasm for Jefferson baseball and get more good athletes at the school to join the team.

Just imagine what the former all-conference catcher at Jefferson might do if he actually becomes the school's new coach.

Rodenkirk, 28, applied for the job on the same day Mike Kuba announced his resignation two weeks ago. He took his resume and cover letter to Jefferson and met for about 20 minutes with Principal Chuck McDonnell and athletic director Chris Deam.

"It went well," he said. "Hopefully they want to get some young blood in there."

Rodenkirk said formal interviews will begin the week of Sept. 10 and he expects stiff competition for the job.

"I feel like I've got a pretty good shot," he said. "It would be good to be back at the alma mater and get them back where they need to be."

Jefferson made four trips to the state tournament in the 1990's, but has not been back since 1998. The J-Hawks have not won a Mississippi Valley Conference title since 2005 and have captured only one Metro title since 1998.

Rodenkirk graduated from Jefferson in 2002 and played college baseball at Winona State after a stint at Iowa. He spent five years as a coach with the J-Hawks with the 8th grade, 9th grade and 10th grade teams before spending two years (2010-11) as the head coach at Anamosa.

He was an assistant coach at Linn-Mar this past season and helped the Lions tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference title and reach the state tournament, working primarily with pitchers and catchers.

He's twice been a member of the Mississippi Valley Conference Coaching Staff of the Year, once in 2005 at Jefferson when Gordy Nordgren was the head coach and again this past season at Linn-Mar.

Rodenkirk had a tough two years at Anamosa, compiling a 12-65 record with a struggling program, but said he benefitted from the experience and grew as a coach.

Rodenkirk comes from an extended baseball family. His late grandfather, Ken Charipar, played in the minor leagues and was a successful American Legion coach before becoming an assistant with
the Iowa Hawkeyes.

One of his uncles, Mike Boddicker, enjoyed a successful career as a pitcher in the major leagues. And Boston Red Sox outfielder Ryan Sweeney is a brother-in-law.

Rodenkirk teaches at Wilson Middle School and said his "dream job" is becoming the head coach of the J-Hawks.

"I remember my senior year in math class," he said. "Scott Kibby was my math teacher and he was my baseball coach my senior year. I thought to myself, 'I want to be a coach here some day. That would be pretty cool.'

"Who knows, that dream might come true. And if it does, I'm going to give it everything I can."