New Prague High School Activities

Coach Oakes is entering his 6th season as the head coach of the Trojan Baseball Program.  Oakes spent 3 seasons as a varsity assistant coach before becoming the head coach in 2019.  He is a 2011 graduate of Jordan High School, and then went on to attend Augsburg College.  Oakes served as a captain of the baseball team during his time there and graduated in 2015 with a degree in special education.  He went on to finish his master's degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead.  Oakes is currently a special education teacher at New Prague Middle School.  He currently resides in New Prague with his wife, Hannah, who is also a special education teacher in the New Prague School District and children, Auggie and Emerson.

Coach Plaisance is an Industrial Technology teacher at New Prague High School.  Coach Plaisance is our Associate Head Coach at the Varsity level.  He is also a Defensive Coordinator for the Trojan Football team. During the winter he assists in the Trojan Strength and Conditioning program.  In his spare time he likes to be with his family, work in his wood shop and read.  Coach Plaisance resides in New Prague with his wife Cheryl and children Beau and Peyton.

Coach Heitkamp is entering his 2nd season as a varsity assistant coach for New Prague.  He is a graduate of Jordan High School where he also served as a varsity assistant baseball coach for the last 12 years.

Eric is new to the Trojans baseball program for the 23-24 season. He is a New Prague graduate and is currently the head groundskeeper for the school district. He has been a part of Veseli baseball for 28 years and part of amatuer baseball his whole life. Fun fact, he has gotten a hit off Coach Oakes both right and left handed.

Stephen Pettinelli is new to the Trojans baseball program for the 23-24 season. This is his second year teaching at New Prague Middle School as an 8th grade science teacher. In his first year at New Prague, he helped coach 7th grade football and coached middle school softball. Prior to coming to New Prague, Stephen taught in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage schools for 14 years. He worked at both the middle and high school levels teaching science, was a Dean at Burnsville Alternative High School, and coached both 10th grade football and baseball. Stephen grew up on the iron range, attended Saint Scholastica in Duluth where he earned his Bachelors in Biology and an emphasis in education. After beginning his career, he attended St. Thomas to obtain his Masters and Education Specialist degrees in Educational Leadership, while also getting his k-12 principals licensure. Stephen currently resides in New Prague with his wife Kimberly, and their four children Oliver, Sam, Lucy, and Clara. He has coached a variety of sports over the years including baseball for 11-14 year olds and youth soccer.

Bill graduated from then Jackson High School, (present day: Jackson County Central) in 1997 where he played football and baseball for the Blue Jays, earning all Southwest Conference honors his senior year and an honorable mention as a junior. 

He proceeded to Minnesota State, Mankato and played for the Mavericks. Bill has continued playing baseball into his 25th amateur season with stops in Jackson, Eagle Lake and St. Patrick. Included with his playing days, Bill has been a long time coach, spending summers in Eagle Lake, New Prague, and most recently as pitching coach at Jordan High School. Bill has also been an umpire for 24 years, officiating games as young as 8 year olds all the way to junior varsity. 

Coach Hart has worked at Ameriprise Financial in Minneapolis since 1995.  Coach Hart has been involved in baseball coaching at New Prague High since 2021.  Coach Hart is currently part of the St. Patrick Shamrocks 35 and over baseball team as well as the St. Patrick Emeralds 50 and over baseball team.  Coach Hart grew up in Stewartville, MN graduating in 1983, then graduating from Mankato State University in 1988, and now resides in New Prague with his wife, Brigid, since 2005.