Grafton, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks are please to announce the coaching staff that will assist new field manager Travis Akre in his debut season with the club. John Hasser will return after serving with Eddy Morgan last season and newcomers Jerry A’Hearn and Matt Risdon will bring summer experience, as well as terrific contacts throughout the world of college baseball.
John Hasser – Bench Coach
John Hasser returns for his second season as the team’s bench coach and will provide valuable NWL experience to Akre’s first staff. In his seventh year as an assistant coach for Augie Schmidt at Carthage College after playing his senior season with the Red Men in 2011, Hasser has Northwoods League experience as a member of the 2010 Green Bay Bullfrogs. John also has managed youth teams for the Hitters Academy out of Racine. He has worked with many players at Hitters that have gone on to play Division 1 college baseball. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Hasser attended Wisconsin-Parkside for three years before transferring to Carthage, where he graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations.
Jerry A’Hearn – Central Arizona College
Jerry A’Hearn will mentor the Chinook pitching staff after his sixth year as an assistant coach for Central Arizona College where his primary roles include coaching the pitchers, coordinating the program’s strength and conditioning and serving as recruiting coordinator. In his first five years at CAC his pitching staff has earned 11 ALL ACCAC selections, 12 players have been drafted, 20 signed with DI schools, and one All- American (Grant Townsend). In 2017, the CAC pitching staff broke the school record for strikeouts in a season (588). After playing for CAC in 2008 and 2009, the Tuscon, AZ native competed at Cameron University in Oklahoma where he earned in degree in Sports Fitness Management.
Matt Risdon – Western Illinois
Risdon will join the Chinook staff after his third season as a member of Ryan Brownlee’s coaching staff at Western Illinois University where he also competed for two years with the Leathernecks. Risdon first worked as the Director of Baseball Operations after graduating in 2014 and in 2016-17 year moved into the Graduate Assistant role. He works with the catchers, hitting, assists with on and off campus recruiting, and coordinates all youth and prospect camps. A native of Mundelein, IL, Risdon first played at Kishwaukee College where he earned All-Region honors and the Kishwaukee athlete of the Year.
The 2018 season is presented by Port Washington State Bank with the home opener set for June 1st at 6:35pm against the Kenosha Kingfish. Season and group tickets are currently on sale with single game tickets available for purchase at the end of April.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
