NEENAH — The Neenah Rockets boys baseball team has a new head coach after four years, as former MLB pitcher Jack Taschner departed the program this past offseason.
In comes Aaron Nelson, who played at UW-Stevens Point and has been bouncing around the area as an assistant for the last few years, most recently with Little Chute. For him to take over the Rockets is a dream come true.
“My dream has kind of been to be a high school guy and take over a program,” he said. “Just really excited to have this opportunity. Just excited to see what the team can do this year.”
The biggest thing Nelson wants his team to know, it's just a game and he will always have their backs.
“Just bringing a positive attitude,” Nelson said. "I’m a really positive guy. This game is already hard enough, so if you get down on yourself you’re not going to be able to perform at the highest level, so just really giving these guys that mental edge to the game and having my back kind of approach.”
“He really wants us to have fun,” said Rockets junior infielder Ethan Vandyke. “He knows it’s just a game at the end of the day. Obviously, we want to compete, but at the end of the day it’s just a game.”
To get the program where he wants it to be, it has to be built from the ground up. Starting with players coming up through the youth level.
“He tries to bring everybody together,” Vandyke said. “He brings up the younger guys. (It) helps that they’re always working with us. It’s really bought into the program since he’s been here.”
The Rockets haven’t won a conference title in a very, very long time. 1976 to be exact. That’s nearly half a century and Nelson is here to change that.
“He really wants to bring this program up and get a conference title, we haven’t won state in over 50 years,” said senior Beckett Davidson. “(He) just wants to get it going.”
The first step to changing that – having a winning mindset. Nelson wants to build this program up to be held in the same regard as the football and boys/girls basketball teams.
“My approach is to go and expect to win every single day,” said Nelson. “Whether it’s winning your practice, winning your bullpen, winning facing your own guys in the cage. You got to win every day.”
After his team finished fifth in the FVA last year, Nelson knows it could take some time to get the Rockets to the top of the conference, but it’s just about being consistent.
“Coming in every day, doing the little things to improve your game and stay at the top and just keep working hard,” he said. “With that approach of wanting to get to that point and wanting to be successful.”
The Rockets have faith they can compete for a conference title in year one under their new head coach and they have some tough competition to start the year in Hortonville and non-conference foe Bay Port, the state runner up.
“You know, you put it on the schedule, because you want to know where you’re at. When you want to be that level, you got to play that level,” Nelson said.
