As a former basketball coach, John Wooden, once said, “A good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change your life.” One may think that the players hold the team together, but the coaches have a big role as well. The Cannon Falls softball team has two new coaches in town, Tom Langfeldt and Steven Strauss.

Softball and baseball have been a major part of history teacher, Mr. Tom Langfeldt’s, life. He fell in love with the sport when he played in high school. Later in his life, he coached softball at Bethlehem Academy for six years. Although he had another new coaching opportunity this year, he saw that a position became available for a varsity softball coach for Cannon Falls and said, “Well why not.” Working together as a team is what Langfeldt strives for, “I would like my team to work toward a common goal in softball.” mentioned the new coach. When he is coaching, he says he tries not to put the players first, he just needs to put the whole team first. Additionally, he claims, “These are a great group of girls, and we have a great group of kids here at Cannon Falls.” The varsity team has 6 wins, but they have had some very close games and continue to get better every day. He adds, “I think my greatest accomplishment would be the number of players, who after they have graduated, still make contact with me and with the relationships you make with the kids over the year.”

Steven Stauss has just become a new history teacher this year at Cannon Falls High school. He stays busy teaching by day and coaching by night. Some might even say he runs a double life. Mr. Strauss has dedicated much of his time to softball. The energizing sport  is practically in his blood. When asked about his past experiences, he stated, “Yes I have coached a lot of softball before. One year I was a junior high coach in Sebeka, then the year after that I was an assistant varsity coach, and then for three years I was a head varsity softball coach.” He decided to become the junior varsity head coach of Cannon Falls this year. Coincidentally, Strauss was influenced by another teacher at Cannon, “Varsity coach, Mr. Langfeldt, encouraged me to help him coach a big group of softball players.” From playing baseball/softball for the majority of his life, it has made coaching much more enjoyable. Strauss loves coaching, but there are some challenges to the job. In order to be a successful coach, they need to be committed and have the ability to coordinate many events. Especially in the springtime when the weather is sketchy, he has to figure out  plans and notify all the players / parents quickly. In the end, he just wants the kids to have fun, while still improving on their skills. Speaking of improving, the junior varsity’s record so far is two wins and three loses. They have been having a successful season so far.