After having to split a Legion baseball team with Albert Lea last summer, Austin Post 91 is back with its own team this summer and it has some new leadership.

Joe Kroc and Andy Swank, who both graduated from Austin High School in 2004, are taking over as the team’s co-head coaches this year and they bring plenty of experience to the table.

Kroc played college baseball at St. Cloud State University and he’s coached in Austin for the past few years. Swank played college baseball at Briar Cliff University and he’s also coached in Austin for the past few years. Swank and Kroc each play for the Austin Greyhounds over the summer as well.

So far, the team has responded well to its new coaches.

“They’ve done everything that we’ve asked of them,” Kroc said. “These guys do have a lot of talent and the biggest obstacle right now is for them to have confidence in themselves when it’s crunch time. There is a lot of talent on this squad and we’re hoping we can get things going in the right way.”

Bob Stratton was the previous Post 91 head coach and he’s been instrumental in helping Kroc and Swank learn the ropes of head coaching.

“We’ve had a lot of mentorship from Bob Stratton,” Swank said. “He’s helped us out quite a bit and he’s taken care of quite a bit of the things in the offseason that we’ll eventually have to take care of.”

Post 91 will be expected to play hard and fast this year as Swank likes baseball to be played at an intense level.

“We want everything 100 percent,” Swank said. “Hustle out of the box and hustle in and out of the dug outs. I’m a little bit old fashioned and I like hustling without showboating. Act like you’ve done it before.”

For the first time in a few years, Post 91 will get a boost from a couple of players who didn’t play for the Packers in high school. Lyle-Pacelli’s Jordan Hart and Daniel Bollingberg will join the team, which also features Austin pitcher Nik Gasner.

Kroc said Hart and Bollingberg were already familiar with most of their Post 91 teammates and he thinks they’ll fit in just fine this year.

“Those kids are big time players,” Kroc said. “It’s a big help and they’ve done nothing but work hard. With all the kids, we’re tying to get them to learn.”

Swank said Post 91 is hoping for a successful season this year.

“We think we have a good squad,” he said. “We have some serious talent and with Nik Gasner on the mound, we think we can beat anybody. The spring is always tough, because it’s short and you don’t get comfortable. We have high expectations and we’re looking to win a lot of games and compete in every game.”

Austin will open its season at Stewartville Monday at 7 p.m Post 91 will host Albert Lea Thursday at 6:30 p.m. All of Post 91’s home games will be in Marcusen Park this season.