Robert Hafer is an experienced and talented coach. This is his ninth year as a coach and is coming off of a 18-5 record last year which he is looking to top this year. Hafer loves the game of baseball because a win or a loss can depend on a specific moment in a game. He loves to make every moment a teachable one and is excited about building onto what his players already know.

“While wins are nice and we will work towards as many wins as possible, the junior varsity program has other goals that may have priority over wins,” Hafer said. “The program’s goals in regards to offense, defense and pitching are paramount. I would love for the majority of our players to meet or come close to meeting our program goals. If that comes to fruition, wins will follow.”

Hafer is the second longest tenured coach in the program who cares a lot about the program itself and its players. He is also proud to be a part of a program that constantly sends players to college, such as Cardinals middle infielder Paul Dejong. He is excited for this year to see the growth of the underclassmen. Hafer is seen as a positive influence on the team and always wants to win and make everyone better by helping with all the small issues concerning their swings or helping out with tracking fly balls.

“Hafer has been a positive influence to me, he always makes small corrections to my form that help me in the long run, and he is a coach who plays to win and truly gets you prepared for varsity baseball,” junior Sawyer Phillips said.