Hello and welcome to J-Hawk Baseball!

This is my first season as the head coach here at Jefferson.  I was a 2002 grad of JHS and played baseball as a catcher.  I played baseball collegiately at the University of Iowa for a year before transferring to Winona State University and caught all 4 years there.  I have coached at every level in the high school realm.  I coached 5 years in the J-Hawk program, before taking on the head coaching duties at Anamosa High School.  I was out there for 2 seasons before going to Linn-Mar last year as an assistant varsity coach.  I am very excited to be coaching at my alma-matter and enjoy being around these young men. 

I am happily married to my wife of 1 year who is so supportive of my endeavors.  Her brothers both played baseball at JHS and now play professional baseball.  My family has baseball in its blood.  My late grandfather, Ken Charipar, was a successful legion coach in Cedar Rapids that led their teams to multiple world series appearances.  He also coached at the University of Iowa as an assistant for many years.  My uncle is Mike Boddicker who pitched in the Major Leagues for 13 years.  My two older sisters both played softball at JHS and won the state title a couple of times.  I hope to pass on the passion and love of the game to these young men.

The Jefferson baseball program can be the best program in the state I believe.  With hard work, dedication, and with the players buying into what we are trying to accomplish, it can happen.  Our motto will be, “Effort, Enthusiasm, Execution.”  If we can do all three of these things, we will enjoy great success.  Our philosophy is about team play and not individualism.  We will play the game the right way and be a fundamentally sound program.  It will not happen overnight, but through hard work comes reward. 

Again I am very excited to continue my career at Jefferson and look forward to seeing everyone out at our games this summer. 

It is great to be a J-Hawk!

Kyle Rodenkirk