MONROE - It's a frustrating walk back to the drawing board for Rooney Janecke and Lon Scheuerell.
Not until the last few weeks of the Home Talent League season did the player-managers of the Monroe Brewers fully-recognize the product they envisioned when they started dreaming up a lineup card last November.
The Brewers won their last three games, finishing in a three-way tie with Dodgeville and Blanchardville for the final two playoff spots. Head-to-head results served as the tiebreaker and Monroe came up on the short end.
So Janecke and Scheuerell, who revived the Brewers' squad three years ago, will be looking for fresh blood in a few months.
Scheuerell says many of his players will return, but isn't oblivious to his ongoing need for more talent.
"It's not like we have a huge bench or anything; we'll welcome anyone that's interested, and if you come out and make the commitment, you're gonna be on the team," Scheuerell said.
Just over 10 years ago, Scheuerell started commuting to stay in the game and he hasn't stopped since. He first drove 20 minutes to Livingston-Linden for five years before joining the Wiota Indians for three.
The Orangeville prep softball skipper continues to drive to facilitate his love of coaching. He'd like to have more teammates who don't have to go through that same grind.
"There's a lot of really good ballplayers in Monroe," Scheuerell said, "and we'd love to have more of them."
Turns out the big reason the Brewer skippers aren't getting more phone calls is because of slow pitch softball's overwhelming popularity. Playing HTL requires a bit more of a commitment with practices and two games per week. Not to mention baseball gear is a bit more intensive and pricy than the sleeveless T-shirt, mesh shorts and rubber spikes (optional) that make up a beer league softball uniform.
Lefty pitcher and outfielder Mike Demianiuk will be a senior at Monroe High School. He played a few games for the Crew this season, as Cheesemakers coach Steve Christensen urges his ballplayers to keep up the habit during the summer.
Christensen and Kenny Gratz, have helped the Brewers the same way they've done for the high school. Thanks to them, concessions are always for sale and the field is always well-manicured.
Scheuerell likes to plug as many first-year players into the lineup for Night League contests, as Thursday nights serve as a sort of "farm league" for HTL clubs.
"You look at Wiota, and they've got five Black Hawk High School kids playing Thursday nights; that's what we'd like to have here," Scheuerell said.
Scheuerell also knows creating a winner is a process - one he'd like to start as soon as possible by hooking players early. It took Scheuerell four seasons to sniff the .300 batting average mark.
"It takes a commitment," Scheuerell said. "The first year or two, it's an adjustment. Going to a wooden bat, you can't expect to just step right in and be as good as you were in high school."
The Brewers, one of the league's youngest clubs, were snakebit by an early-season loss to Dodgeville as they waited for several of their studs to finish their college baseball seasons.
In order to remedy that, Scheuerell and Janecke hope to have a few more names to put on the lineup card next May.
Not until the last few weeks of the Home Talent League season did the player-managers of the Monroe Brewers fully-recognize the product they envisioned when they started dreaming up a lineup card last November.
The Brewers won their last three games, finishing in a three-way tie with Dodgeville and Blanchardville for the final two playoff spots. Head-to-head results served as the tiebreaker and Monroe came up on the short end.
So Janecke and Scheuerell, who revived the Brewers' squad three years ago, will be looking for fresh blood in a few months.
Scheuerell says many of his players will return, but isn't oblivious to his ongoing need for more talent.
"It's not like we have a huge bench or anything; we'll welcome anyone that's interested, and if you come out and make the commitment, you're gonna be on the team," Scheuerell said.
Just over 10 years ago, Scheuerell started commuting to stay in the game and he hasn't stopped since. He first drove 20 minutes to Livingston-Linden for five years before joining the Wiota Indians for three.
The Orangeville prep softball skipper continues to drive to facilitate his love of coaching. He'd like to have more teammates who don't have to go through that same grind.
"There's a lot of really good ballplayers in Monroe," Scheuerell said, "and we'd love to have more of them."
Turns out the big reason the Brewer skippers aren't getting more phone calls is because of slow pitch softball's overwhelming popularity. Playing HTL requires a bit more of a commitment with practices and two games per week. Not to mention baseball gear is a bit more intensive and pricy than the sleeveless T-shirt, mesh shorts and rubber spikes (optional) that make up a beer league softball uniform.
Lefty pitcher and outfielder Mike Demianiuk will be a senior at Monroe High School. He played a few games for the Crew this season, as Cheesemakers coach Steve Christensen urges his ballplayers to keep up the habit during the summer.
Christensen and Kenny Gratz, have helped the Brewers the same way they've done for the high school. Thanks to them, concessions are always for sale and the field is always well-manicured.
Scheuerell likes to plug as many first-year players into the lineup for Night League contests, as Thursday nights serve as a sort of "farm league" for HTL clubs.
"You look at Wiota, and they've got five Black Hawk High School kids playing Thursday nights; that's what we'd like to have here," Scheuerell said.
Scheuerell also knows creating a winner is a process - one he'd like to start as soon as possible by hooking players early. It took Scheuerell four seasons to sniff the .300 batting average mark.
"It takes a commitment," Scheuerell said. "The first year or two, it's an adjustment. Going to a wooden bat, you can't expect to just step right in and be as good as you were in high school."
The Brewers, one of the league's youngest clubs, were snakebit by an early-season loss to Dodgeville as they waited for several of their studs to finish their college baseball seasons.
In order to remedy that, Scheuerell and Janecke hope to have a few more names to put on the lineup card next May.
