Fox 9 Town Ball Tour: Youth movement hits Glencoe Brewers

GLENCOE (FOX 9) - There’s a youth movement going on in Glencoe when it comes to the community’s amateur baseball, and they couldn’t be happier about it.

It’s Week 4 of the Fox 9 Town Ball Tour, and this week we travel to Glencoe, a community of about 5,500 residents less than an hour west of the Twin Cities metro. It’s an area known for its success in sports between youth and high school. Glencoe-Silver Lake and Hutchinson are both powerhouses in football, and they’re friendly rivals in the fall.

In the heart of Glencoe sits Vollmer Field, the home of the Glencoe Brewers of the Crow River Valley League. Their manager is 26-year-old Colt Trebesch. He’s in his third year leading the club, and has been playing since his teenage years. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a lot of fun playing with all the guys. They’re all pretty much close to my age. Being only a couple years older than some of them, you get to see them coming up through high school,” Trebesch said. “So I got to play with a lot of the guys that I manage so it makes it a lot easier for me to write the lineup. I know what they’re capable of and what they want to do.”

The Brewers, named after a brewery in Glencoe, officially started in the 1930s. They got a reboot in 1982 from Glencoe’s own Dave Sell, who was inducted to the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016, and two others.

The community got together to build a grandstand in 1984, and the Brewers have been a fixture in the community at Vollmer Field ever since. The team has had some success as well. The Brewers have been to nine State Tournaments, most recently as a co-host with Brownton in 2011, and won the Class C state championship in 1998.

Glencoe is a community that loves its baseball.

“I really love it because it shows that baseball isn’t dead. So many times once they get done with high school it’s like 'Let’s got to the lake' or something else, but they’re willing to be dedicated and come to games,” Sell said. “I really like to see the youth, I believe we have four or five high school kids. That’s great to see because hopefully they’ll continue on.”

It was free admission at Vollmer Field Wednesday night as the Brewers hosted the Young America Cardinals in Crow River Valley League play. Glencoe is in the North Division, which includes the New Germany Dutchmen, St. Boni Saints, Waconia Lakers, Watertown Red Devils, Winsted Wildcats.

The Brewers may take some lumps this year with their youth. Trebesch is in his third year managing, and most of Glencoe’s roster consists of players in their early 20s. For Trebesch, there’s nothing he enjoys more than a summer night at the ballpark with his friends.

“You get to play with the guys that you grew up with. Just it’s a fun environment to be able to participate in, that’s the biggest thing,” Trebesch said.

Vollmer Field features a couple key signatures. Just past the center field fence is the city’s outdoor water park, featuring slides that are perfect for any hot summer day. Out in foul territory between third base and left field lies the Oak Leaf Park Disc Golf Course. Near the water park is an animal sanctuary and petting zoo, perfect for the little kids.

As for the ballpark itself, the Brewers made a change to the infield about three years ago and put grass in on the first and third baselines. It’s less maintenance during the summer and gives the ballpark a different look behind home plate.

The Brewers have been around for 37 years, and the hope is the team continues for generations to come. Sell can look at the product now and appreciate the commitment all the way around, going back to the start in 1982.

“It means a lot just for the fact that all the friendship that I’ve made over the years,” Sell said.

Now in his managerial role, Trebesch appreciates the work it took to get the Brewers restarted. It’s now his and the players’ job to keep it going.

“It means a lot. I played for three or four different managers already and I have nothing but respect for them, what they had to do and what they had to deal with. I got to see both ends of the spectrum, 45-year-old guys playing and 16-year-old guys playing, so that means a lot,” Trebesch said. “These managers have set this up for success for us to come.”