🏆 10U Coach of the Year – Chris Ahlers 🏆
Team:
10U Fargo 61's Red
Years of Experience Coaching Baseball:
9 Years
About Coach Ahlers:
Chris Ahlers is a dedicated coach with a passion for youth sports. He and his wife, Gina, have five children: Madison (Junior at UND), Cameron (Freshman at UND), Matthew (Freshman at Shanley High School), Abigail (8th grader at Sacred Heart), and Michael (5th grader at Nativity). By day, Chris works as a director of engineering at Microsoft, managing a team of around 80 software engineers. With over 24 years at Microsoft, he balances his career with hobbies like golf, pickleball, and coaching. In addition to his 9 years of coaching youth baseball, Chris has coached youth football for 10 years and high school football at Shanley High School for the past 5 years. He finds joy in helping children and teens learn life lessons through sports.
Balancing Winning and Player Development:
For Chris, winning is an outcome, while player development is a process. He focuses on the process and allows the outcome to reflect the team's progress. He encourages players to embrace improvement without fixating on perfection, to concentrate on what they can control, and to understand the difference between winning/losing and success/failure. Every practice and game is an opportunity to learn and grow, and Chris believes that failure only happens when you stop learning and trying to get better.
Building Team Chemistry and Fostering Positive Culture:
Chris believes that culture is defined by how a team does things, and it's crucial to have clear expectations for behavior. He ensures that actions align with expectations and doesn’t reward bad behavior. To build team chemistry, Chris introduces adversity in "low stakes" situations during practice, allowing the team to practice their behaviors and learn. This preparation helps the team handle adversity in "high stakes" situations, revealing the true culture of the team.
Biggest Influences and Lessons Learned:
Chris has been coaching football at Shanley High School for 5 years, and head coach Troy Mattern has been a significant influence. From Coach Mattern, Chris learned to keep long-term goals in perspective and not to be distracted by short-term setbacks. Whether facing good and bad practices or wins and losses, Chris strives to help his team compete to the best of their ability, learn, and improve, with the goal of peaking at the end of the season when it matters most.
Most Memorable Coaching Moment:
Chris's most memorable moment in coaching was winning the 2022 North Dakota high school state championship in football with Shanley High School. Coaching at the highest level that year (AA) and winning the final game of the season was incredibly challenging. It was especially meaningful because his son Cameron, a Junior at the time, was on the team. Having coached Cameron in football since 4th grade, sharing that achievement on the field with him was an unforgettable experience.
Honorable Mentions (10U):
Greg Gilbertson (Scheels), Brent Wolf (SpartanNash Gold), Daniel Kolaric (HuHot), Greg Miller (Pearl Vision), Kenny Wold (Valley Service Mechanical)
Schedule of Announcements:
5/6U - Joey & Leslie Dawson (Dawson Contracting LLC)
7U - Ryan Birney (Fit Body)
8U - Kyle Argall (Men's Hair Co)
9U – Jordan Pederson (Bobcat)
10U – Chris Ahlers (Fargo 61’s Red)
11U - No Nominations
12U - Wednesday, September 4
13u - Thursday, September 5
14/15u - Friday, September 6
Program Coaching Staff of the Year - Monday, September 9