The TEAM
2023 APPLE VALLEY EAGLES
Varsity
1 Noah Alberts
2 Joe O'Brien
3 Eric Jensen
4 Ethan Gores
5 Miles Jensen
6 Nicholas Lind
7 Ryan Christiansen
8 Spencer Klein
10 Parker Behling
11 Jackson Thornburgh
12 Eli Schlichting
13 Christian Hagelee
14 Colin Mahon
15 Spencer Trocke
16 Brandon Gentz
17 Benjamin Jackson
18 Carter Titus
Head Coach
Sam Firpo
952-649-9838
Coach Firpo is very excited to start a 4th season as Varsity Head Coach of your Apple Valley Eagles. Sam is in his 11th year coaching Apple Valley baseball, having coached the Sophomore team for 2 years before becoming the Varsity Assistant Coach for 6 years.
Sam is originally from Puerto Rico where he spent his youth playing baseball until he was 19 years old. He also coached the 15 year old team from Levittown, PR. Sam continued coaching little league while he served in the US Air Force in Rapid City, South Dakota. He has also been the Assistant Coach for the Apple Valley American Legion team, a coach for the Minnesota Mash, and he also is an assistant coach for the AV Volleyball team.
Sam has son, Justin, who currently attends and plays baseball at Winona State University, and a daughter, Katie, who is a Freshman at San Francisco State University.
Assistant Coach
Bill Goodman
Coach Goodman enters his 4th season as an Eagle Assistant Baseball Coach. The Fort Dodge, Iowa native has been a high school coach at Buchanan, Michigan, Fort Dodge, Iowa, The Blake school in Hopkins, and Lakeville South. He has also coached at the college level at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Augsburg College in Minneapolis, and Bethel University in St Paul.
Goodman was a four-sport letterman at Fort Dodge Senior High in Iowa lettering in football, basketball, track and baseball. He is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. He was also an All-state and All-American honorable mention football running back in high school. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds professional baseball team upon graduating from high school and spent four seasons with them. He was named to the Northern League All-star team. After four years with the Reds, he then signed with the Minnesota Twins. He spent three years with the Twins organization as an Outfielder. Following his playing days, he served as an Associate Scout with the Kansas City Royals organization.
He has been a Human Resources professional in the Twin Cities with Land O Lakes, Pillsbury, ITT, and Rollerblade. Goodman is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Goodman has two sons and two daughters — Torre, Kris, Keisha, and Katie. He and his wife, Dianne, make their home in Burnsville.
Assistant Coach
Jay Baker
graduated from Coon Rapids High in 1993. Jay went onto to college at St. Catherines graduating in 1995 with an AAS Degree in Occupational Therapy. Jay has traveled all over the country working with variety of clients. Clients had a variety of medical issues including hip fractures, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes. Occupational Therapy is designed to re-teach clients the basics to complex. Along with this career Jay also followed his first love Baseball.
BASEBALL BACKGROUND Jay has coached all over the country with a variety of ages and abilities including high school/college adult baseball leagues private lessons/group instruction. His first coaching job was Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the age of 21 since then nearly 25 years later he still has the itch to coach and train our young men of today.
Here are a few of hiscoaching stops:
--- Assistant Varsity Coach 2001-2003 Hampton Christian Academy 2002 State ChampionshipTitle, 2004 Runner-up
---- Head JV Coach 2004 Hampton Christian
----- Minnesota Baseball Academy (Blizzard) Fall Ball Head Coach 14U
Private Lessons/Group training with Blizzard Baseball
---- 9th grade B squad
---- 9A Andover High School
---- Andover JV Head Coach
---- Legion Head Coach (Rosemount Mn):
---- RCTC Assistant Coach 2013-2016
Jay is married to his wife Jill and have 4 sons Drew, Daelin, Darin, Dalton.