Coaches & training staff
Chris Silber, Director
Chris Silber was the Varsity Head Coach for Faribault High School from 2013-2019. In 2018, he led the Falcons to their first State Title. Chris has coached club and community softball in Minnesota for over 15 years.
Chris' coaching philosophy starts with each player on the team having fun and owning “ACE” Attitude / Communication / Effort. These basic things are what each athlete can control every day. This helps us lay a foundation to build on for both the players and the team as a whole. Hard work and commitment to each other and to our team goals is essential to each player on the team. Team goals help us to structure our practice plan and development plan to ensure we stay the course to achieve our goals. We can accomplish our dreams and great things by working together.
Coaching Bio:
Varsity Coach Faribault High School (2013-2019)
- Named Big Nine Coach of the year 2017 & 2018
- 2018 Section 2 AAA Coach of the year
- 2018 Class AAA Coach of the year
- Most Wins in a high schoool season 23-3(2017) & 23-2 (2018)
- Team Set 28 new school records in 2017
- Team Set 4 new school records in 2016 with a 16 – 9 record
2021-2022 TC Blitz Coach
2019-2020 TC Blitz 16U Coach
2018-2019 TC Blitz 14U Coach
2017-2018 TC Blitz 16U Coach
2016-2017 MN Irish 2000 Coach
2014-2016 Sting Coach & Board Advisory Resource
2004-2013 Farmington Coach & Board Member
Chris lives in Lakeville with his wife, Lisa. They have three adult children Meghan, Becca and Chad who attended Farmington High School.
18U Coaches
Dale Stapf, 18U Head coach
Dale spent five years coaching in the Rosemount Traveling Softball Program at varying age levels, with a high degree of success. Through his tenure in Rosemount, Dale has lead his teams to championships in various invitational and state softball tournaments, including winning the 2017 NAFA Nationals. Dale has also spent four years serving as the Player Development Coordinator for Rosemount Traveling Softball where he has worked with girls of all ages enhancing their skills in this great sport. Dale is currently an assistant softball coach at Bethel University where he is entering his 3rd season with the Royals. “Head coach Penny Foore and Associate Head Coach Roman Foore have been so great to me and I couldn’t have two better coaches to look up to. These last couple of years at bethel have been great and I've learned so much by working with this phenomenal coaching staff and amazing young ladies.”
Playing Experience: Dale played three years of varsity baseball at his alma mater New Life Academy in Woodbury. He also spent his summers playing ball in his home town of Rosemount. Shortly after high school, he was introduced to adult slow-pitch softball where he spent the next 15-17 years playing at a high level. During that time, Dale played in some of the biggest and more popular tournaments in Minnesota, including the Dudley. Dale has also played in multiple national tournaments and two world tournaments. To this day, on the rare day off from coaching, he still plays competitive softball with his two brothers. Additionally, over the last five years Dale has also periodically filled in for the 35 and older Rosemount Pipers baseball team.
Mike Baker, 18U Asst coach
Mike will be starting his 2nd year with the 18’s as an assistant. Before joining the TC Blitz, he spent 6 years coaching with the Bloomington Fastpitch Association, coaching the 8u, 10u and 12u’s. Mike will also be starting his 7th season in 2023 as a Bloomington Kennedy High school softball coach, where he’s been the head coach for the freshman and JV teams and currently serves as an assistant coach for the varsity Eagles. Mike lives in Bloomington with his wife Cindy and daughter Ellie.
Jon Graff, 18U Asst coach
Jon enters his 3rd season with the TC Blitz. He spent last season as the Head Coach of the 16u team and guided them to a fantastic season! Jon is also the head baseball coach for Farmington High School, where he will begin his 10th season in 2023. Jon has enjoyed a lot of success as the skipper of the Tigers. He led them to the MN AAAA state title in 2021 and a runner up finish in 2022! Jon lives in Northfield with his wife Angie and their daughters Alli and Courtney
16U Coaches
Brent Anderson
15U Co-Head Coach
Brent will begin his 4th season with the TC Blitz, one with the 18u team as an assistant, and this will be his 3rd with the ‘06 group. Brent started his fastpitch coaching career in Rosemount in 2013 as a 10u coach and helped build that youth program into a powerhouse, highlighted by guiding the 12u team to back to back Tier 1 state titles in 2017/18. His Irish youth teams captured countless tourney championships. Brent has also coached with the MN Sting and MN Irish. He lives in Rosemount with his wife Marilyn and daughters Maizie and Bryn.
"I am super excited to be named the coach of the TC Blitz 06 (16U) team. I couldn't be more proud to be involved with such a wonderful club organization. I cant wait to get started with the girls and push them to be better players, better teammates and better people."
Brent lives in Rosemount with his wife Marilyn and daughters Maizie and Bryn
Grace Viland, 15U Co-Head Coach
TC Blitz Alumni
Grace enters her 3rd year as a coach for our program. She’s coached the ‘06 group for the past 2 seasons and will move up with that age once again. Grace is a recent grad of Gustavus Adolphus, where she spent 4 years on the softball team and will help out on the Gusties staff next season! Grace is a 3rd grade teacher in Maple River, MN and lives in Mankato.
15U Coaches
Chris Silber, Director
16U Head Coach
Nicole Pierick, 15U Asst Coach
Nicole returns to the Blitz for her 3rd season! She coached our 14’s last year and is excited to be back. Nicole played club ball 14-18u for the MN Force. She then went on and played in college at Ottawa University in Kansas. When she finished her softball career, she moved back home to MN and began coaching. She loves coaching and giving back to the game she loves so much! Nicole lives in Farmington and is a legal administrative assistant.
Scott Van Hemert, 15U Asst Coach
Scott will begin his 3rd season coaching with the TC Blitz. He has been an assistant for the 13u and 14u teams the last 2 years. Scott started his coaching career in the Rosemount Traveling Softball Association in 2017. He was an assistant at 10u for 2 seasons and helped ar 12u for 1 season. Scott lives in Rosemount with his wife Tara, daughter Tessa and son Nick.
14U Coaches
Don Mittelstadt, 14U Head Coach
Head Coach - Don Mittelstadt
Don begins his 3rd season with the TC Blitz. He started as an assistant with the 12’s and spent last season as the head coach for the 13u team. Don started his coaching career in the Farmington Girls Fastpitch Association (FGFA) for four years at the 10U and 12U level and also served on the FGFA board holding the position of Treasurer. Teams he coached achieved high level success, including 2nd overall at NAFA Northern Nationals 10U in 2019, Tier 1 State Champions at 10U in 2019, and multiple tournament wins. Don lives in Farmington with his wife Crystal and daughters Marissa and MacKenzie.
Andy Britten, 14U Asst Coach
Andy will begin his 1st season coaching with the TC Blitz. Prior to joining the TC Blitz coaching staff Andy began his softball coaching career in New Prague at the 10U and 12U levels. He also served on the New Prague Softball Development Committee where he focused on player development. Andy also has previous High School Baseball coaching experience.
Andy has a passion for leading and is committed to teaching the fundamentals to enhance the skillset of each and every athlete. He believes in the use of positive energy to help motivate and drive success. Andy lives in Elko New Market with his wife Sheena, daughter Lenna and son Drew.
13U Coaches
Meghan Knipp, 13U Head Coach
Meghan will begin her 5th season with the TC Blitz! She has served as an assistant coach at the 14U,16U and 18U levels and last season was the 12U head coach! Meghan played softball growing up and quickly fell in love with coaching when she began that new adventure. She works in childcare as one of the managers of a private preschool. She lives in Elko New Market with her new husband, Thomas and dog Tito. “I love this program more than anything. I’ve learned so much more about the game through coaching the amazing girls in our club as well as from our coaches.” I owe a lot of my coaching philosophy to my dad, Chris Silber. He has taught me so much about coaching and how to best support the players."
Playing Experience: Meghan played club softball from 14U until 18U. She still says to this day that club softball was her favorite memory. She played three years of varsity softball for Farmington High School. After high school she decided to focus on school but missed the game too much. Once her parents started talking about the TC Blitz she jumped onto the idea to be back involved in the game. “Coaching for me has been one of the most rewarding things in my life. I love spending my weekends at the ball field.”
Meghan graduated from the College of Saint Scholastica with a degree in Elementary Education in May 2020.
Jonah Jenniges, 13U Asst Coach
Jonah begins his 2nd season with the TC Blitz. Last year, he was the assistant on the 12U squad. Prior to joining TC Blitz coaching staff, Jonah started his coaching career in Prior Lake, MN where he coached for four years at the 10U and 12U levels. He has served on the Prior Lake Athletics for Youth (P.L.A.Y) softball board as the Coach Development and Tryout Coordinator. He is a firm believer in player development both on and off the field by educating his players on the importance of academics, nutrition, conditioning, and softball IQ. Jonah lives in Prior Lake with his wife Jessica and children Evelyn and Eastin.
12U Coaches
Shane Martin, 12U Head Coach
Shane is new to the TC Blitz this year. He has spent the past 4 years coaching in the Rosemount Traveling Softball program at different age levels. In addition to coaching, Shane has spent the past few years serving on the Rosemount Traveling Softball Board as apparel and uniform coordinator as well as Co-Program Director. This past spring, Shane completed his first season as Head Coach for the Rosemount High School 9th Grade team. Shane has a passion for coaching and developing players at all age and skill levels. Shane has also coached hockey for the past 15 years. Shane lives in Apple Valley with his wife Sarah, daughter Madison and son Cullen.
Keri Flaskerud, 12U Asst Coach
Keri is also new to the TC Blitz this season. She grew up on the ball fields in Eden Prairie and continued playing the game for fun after high school. Her days of coaching began at the 10u level as an assistant and progressed into a head coach a couple of seasons later. Keri enjoys helping the girls learn to love the game and help them learn how to play competitively. She has taught children in the classroom for 17 years. Keri lives in Inver Grove Heights with her husband Craig, daughter Maya and son Erik!
Winter Training Coaches
McKayla Armbruster
TC Blitz Alumni
- Currently a freshman pitcher at Minnesota State University
- Ms. Minnesota Softball Player of the Year 2019
- MN Gatorade National Player of the Year Finalist 2019
- MN All-Star Team Member
- MN All-Tournament Team Member
- 3x All-State
- 5x All-Conference
- 5x All-Section
- 5x FDN Pitcher of the Year
- 4x FDN Player of the Year
- 4x Gold Glove Award
- 4x Team MVP
- 10 Single Season FHS Records
- 16 Career FHS Records
- 2018 Big 9, Section 2AAA, & MN State Champion
- Member of 6 League Championship Teams
- Member of 5 MN ASA/USA/USSA State Championship Teams
- 2019 SE PGF National Champions
Jesse Armbruster
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jesse Armbruster (Faribault ’92), a former All-State wrestler for the Falcons, was named the 9th Head Coach in the history of the Faribault Wrestling program in 2001. In the 2019-20 season, he will enter his 27th season as a member of the Faribault coaching staff, the last 20 as the Head Coach. He also teaches Social Studies at the Faribault Middle School.
Armbruster was one of the top lightweight wrestlers in the history of the Faribault Wrestling program. Voted team captain and team MVP, he holds All-Conference certificates as well as All-State honors. Armbruster, a member of Faribault’s Career Win Club, was selected to the 1992 Minnesota All-Star Team and competed in the prestigious National High School Wrestling Championships, finishing 5-2.
Armbruster continued his wrestling career at Augsburg College. A four-year letter winner for the NCAA powerhouse Auggies, he finished his career with 134 wins, and once again, was regarded as one of the best in school history. Winner of three conference championships and named the team duals conference Outstanding Wrestler in ’94, Armbruster went on to earn three NCAA All-American certificates placing third in 1994, second in 1996 and winning the NCAA National Championship in 1995. He was voted team MVP twice, competed for two National Championship teams, and captained the 1995 Championship team as well as the 1996 NCAA Runner-up Team. Armbruster was inducted into the NCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame in March of 2014.
As a coach, Armbruster headed the Faribault club program during the mid 90’s while competing at Augsburg. In 1996, he was named Region 1 and MN/USA Coach of the Year. He began his full-time coaching career at Augsburg and assisted under legendary Coach Jeff Swenson and helped aid the Auggies in winning the NCAA Team Championship in 1997. Armbruster was named to the Faribault staff and assisted under Tim Tousignant where he was named Region 1AAA Assistant Coach of the Year in ’98. He was named the Section 1AAA Coach of the Year in 2016. In his tenure, Armbruster has coached 73 High School All-Conference wrestlers, 55 State Entrants, and 27 All-State athletes. He has sat in the corner of 11 State Championship matches and celebrated four Individual State Championships with his student-athletes . Coach Armbruster was a member of the MN Storm Coaching Staff for three seasons in 2006, 2007, and 2009. Armbruster is currently the all-time wins leader for the Falcons as he approaches the 300 win mark. Jesse was inducted into the MCC Region 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in March 2020.
Armbruster also coached softball in Faribault and at the Club level for over twenty years. He helped guide the Falcon team to the 2018 Minnesota State Championship and a 64-6 record his last three seasons with Faribault. Armbruster coached Team Fury and TC Blitz on the national club level and amassed a 429-73 record the past ten years. His teams won six league championships, five MN/USA/USSSA State Championships, place in the top five nationally five times and won the SE PGF National Championship in 2019.
While Armbruster's most memorable wrestling memories number in the hundreds from great team wins to celebrating state championships. He admitted one of his greatest memories in coaching was hosting his daughter McKayla, Ms. Minnesota Softball 2019, high in the air after she led the Falcons to both a State Championship and the National Title!
Jesse lives in Faribault with his wife Amanda