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The players won the title, but Adison Kehoe made them believe that it was possible

Webster City head coach Adison Kehoe (center) talks with his team following the Lynx 12-2, 6-inning victory over Algona on Monday at Lynx Field. In his first year as the head coach, Kehoe led the program to its first NCC title since 2000. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Adison Kehoe tells the story better, but I’ll do my best. It was a cold day in January when he first brought his Webster City baseball players together for an offseason workout and if they were unsure of the expectations, the rookie head coach quickly raised the bar.

“I remember it. It was negative-10 (degrees), it sucked outside and we were at Diamond In The Rough,” Kehoe said of that first meeting. “I just point-blank told them: ‘You guys are the best team in the conference. Pitching, hitting, defensively; it’s there if you want it. If you want to work for it.’ And they have. They’ve worked their butts off.”

The words aren’t enough. You need to look Kehoe in the eyes when he tells that story to get the full effect. The intensity burns. And you immediately believe what he’s saying.

Fast forward six months and here we are. Kehoe — the guy with the long hair, shaggy beard and tattoo-covered arms — set the plan in motion and the players executed it to near perfection.

North Central Conference champions.

WCHS head coach Adison Kehoe (right) talks with Noah McKinney on Monday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

I’ll admit, I didn’t see this coming. And if you’re truthful with yourself, you probably didn’t either.

The same team that went 7-18 a season won the league title by two games. The Lynx assured themselves of their first winning record since 2009 weeks ago and now add the program’s first NCC championship in 17 years and it’s safe to say that Kehoe knows what he’s doing.

“We’ve had this team for three years, but just this year Kehoe came in and got us to all want to play together,” WCHS senior Ty Schnathorst said.

It sounds simple, but it’s anything but. A losing culture isn’t easy for any coach to overcome and for Kehoe to pull it off in his first season as a head coach at any level is truly special.

But he put in his time. He worked with his players in the weight room. He retooled swings and tweaked the mechanics of his pitchers. He cracked the whip when necessary, but he also understood that, first and foremost, it’s got to be fun, otherwise why do it?

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Kehoe is able to joke around with his players and you can tell that they genuinely like their head coach. But they also know when it’s time to put the laughs aside and get to work. And if they don’t, Kehoe is quick to rein them in.

“Winning in any sport is very hard to do and to win conference is 10 times harder,” Kehoe said. “But since Day 1, everything that has happened, they’ve earned. I’ve made it a point as a coaching staff to put these boys through hell from circuit training to kids puking. Blood, sweat and tears is so cliche, but they literally did that all year. So they deserve this. They’ve earned it.”

Monday’s 12-2, 6-inning victory over Algona is a perfect example of where Kehoe has taken his program in such a short time. WCHS was shaky defensively early on and the Bulldogs pounced with two runs in the top of the first inning.

The Lynx were anxious at the plate throughout the first three innings, too. They didn’t see many pitches and too often they hit lazy fly balls on the infield.

But they never panicked. They never pointed fingers, nor did they try to force things. They were confident their opportunity to break through would occur.

“Once we got one run, we knew we could get more,” Jordan Tanner, the Lynx junior catcher, said.

Some of that is maturity from a team that has been together for a few years. But the guy pulling the strings had a lot to do with it as well.

Afterwards, once the hugs and handshakes were finished, Kehoe handed all of the credit to his players. They put in the work, he said.

He’s right, of course. But he had plenty to do with it as well. His players always had the physical tools to be special. They just needed someone to get them to believe.

And Adison Kehoe was that guy.

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