When deciding who would be the new Vikings' baseball coach after Warren Zweigle retired following a decades-long run, Whitehall athletic director Christian Subdon had to overlook one big part of Brian Peets' resume: Peets' 17 seasons of experience as a Spring Lake assistant from 1999-2016. The Lakers have been a Whitehall nemesis in multiple sports in recent years, including on the diamond, where they defeated the Vikings in the 2024 regional semifinals.
"(That) automatically put him at the bottom of my list, but I looked past that," Subdon chuckled. "He checked every box as far as his knowledge of the game...He's in our building at the high school. He teaches construction trades. The connections he makes with our students are second to none. He's exceptional at it."
Peets brings a ton of baseball experience to the role. Prior to his Spring Lake tenure, he pitched at Grand Rapids Community College and at Ferris State University, and during his playing days, Subdon said, he was known as "Pistol Peets" due to his live arm.
His coaching, though, is the skill most important to Whitehall, and Peets said his experience working under three different head coaches - Tom Hickman, whom he also played for at Spring Lake, as well as Brian Sabo and Jeff Lindsey - made him a better coach himself.
"Coach Hickman taught me about preparation," Peets said. "He always stressed taking care of the little things in baseball. Attention to detail, practicing with a purpose, not just going through the motions."
While coaching with Sabo, Peets became the Lakers' pitching coach, and under Lindsey, he coached the JV. His experience focusing on different things and different levels, Peets said, enhanced his development as a coach.
"I had the chance to see three different points of view and take a little of it all into consideration to help me with my own vision of what it takes to build a successful program," Peets said.
Peets said the coaching itch recently returned for him, and the relationships he's built with his students made coaching for the Vikings a natural fit when the position became available. It certainly helped that Whitehall has developed a tradition of success in the sport.
The Whitehall staff is looking at the program from a district-wide perspective, so everyone from middle school coach Matt Schultz to assistants Rodney Burns, Jordan Seeger, and Isaac Bench to Peets himself will teach similar concepts in hopes of making the Vikings a streamlined program.
Peets is inheriting a Viking program that's in a solid place. Last season's team ripped off nine straight victories to end the season before running into eventual regional champion Fruitport in the district title game. The team brings back a lot of experience, including at key positions, setting the foundation for a fun campaign.
The team boasts a strong senior core. Pitcher Evan Thomas enters the season as the unquestioned top man on the mound after being one of the Vikes' conference doubleheader hurlers last year.
"We're looking forward to how he progresses throughout the season," Peets said. "It should be a good watch."
Thomas won't be going it alone, as classmates Noah Morse, Hunter Peterson, Max Krukowski, Ethan Deshong, Jakobe Monroe and Justin Jensen bolster the lineup. Jensen, Cody Manzo, Morse and Monroe all started the district finals last season and should be major factors, while Krukowski, Peterson and Deshong are likely ticketed for larger roles this season.
There will be several young players in the mix too. A pair of freshmen, Brayden Kelley and Emmet Hecht, should contribute immediately, and sophomore Noah Peterson will be a contributor as a pitcher and hitter after debuting on the varsity last season. The junior class is shorter on numbers - Madden Risner, James Brooks and Brecken Kennedy - and will battle for playing time as well.
"In the practices we’ve had so far, the guys have been bringing a lot of energy and excitement every day," Peets said.
Whitehall's team goals include the trophy goals, of course, but Peets said the Vikings are also buying into a team-first concept, with a mantra to "play for each other."
"The key factors to achieve these (goals) are truly playing to your potential for the guy next to you," Peets said. "We can only control what is inside the fences and if we do our part for the team, success will follow."
Whitehall often challenges itself by playing larger schools and it will be no different this season. A rematch with the Trojans is on the slate, as well as matchups with Reeths-Puffer, Hamilton, Sparta, Traverse City West and Zeeland West, among others. In the West Michigan Conference Lakes, rival Montague is the defending champion. Peets is also excited for the possibilities in the GMAA tournament.
"We’ll have the guys as prepared as we can before our first scheduled contest, but until we get outdoors and practice in the elements it’s TBD," Peets said.
