The Proctor Journal
March 30, 2023

While Head Baseball Coach Adam Shykes is in his rookie season he is expecting to make a run for the LSC [Lake Superior Conference] title behind some strong arms.

Winter is making the start of the Rails' season difficult. "I think our biggest challenge will be the weather, honestly. Being stuck inside for a long period of time can be hard on athletes to stay motivated," Shykes said.

While the school website lists the home and season opener against Esko as April 4 at 4:30 p.m., Shykes believes it will be April 15.

The team, that went 17-9 [and finished as Section 7AA Runner-up] last season, lost six seniors to graduation but has five returning starters and three seniors. The boys will be led by captains Blake Imhoff (12th), Cooper Johnson (11th), and Nick Terhaar (10th).

The coach and the captains are looking for Thomas Olson and Breckin Ross, both ninth graders, to contribute.

"I think we have a very balanced lineup from top to bottom," Shykes observed. "There are a lot of guys with varsity at-bats and everyone can hit in our lineup.

"One thing we are going to do as a team though is to make sure that we are holding each other accountable. If we can do this, it will help us during those long practices indoors and I think it will bring out the best in these kids.

"Our expectations this season are to be competitive every time we step [on] the field. We know with the roster that we have that we can have a very special season this year."

Shykes knows about Proctor and baseball. He is a 2016 Duluth Denfeld grad. After high school he played Division II baseball at the University of Minnesota Crookston in the NSIC [Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference]. After college he was back to Denfeld as an assistant baseball coach for the past three seasons under the legendary coach Joe Wicklund.

Shykes is also a Bantam A hockey coach in Proctor. He is married to Jocelyn Shykes who is the owner of the Madill Performing Arts Center in Duluth. They have an eight-month-old son named Kyler. "He is a pretty cool little guy," Shykes stated.

"This season the team has set our goals high and that is to win the LSC and make a run at a state championship," Shykes predicted. "We know this is not going to be easy. At our first official practice of the season we created a pyramid that laid out our goals and what we need to do to reach those goals. If we are able to follow what is on that pyramid we believe that we [will] have something special this season."

While the first game may be slow coming, Shykes is happy with the prospects. "So far, the kids have been a blast to coach. They come to practice everyday with a good work ethic and high energy. I am a big believer that baseball should be fun and I think with what we got going on this season that this will be a very fun season for everyone."