southlandvikings.com

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. – Change has come to the Southland Vikings but there will be a familiar Midwest Collegiate League twist.  

Kevin Franchetti is the Vikings new manager and is looking to bring back that Midwest Collegiate League intensity that he believes makes the summer league special and different from other leagues around the nation.  

As a former player in the league — Franchetti played for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in 2012 — the new manager is excited to teach the lessons that he learned while sitting in the same dugouts and playing on the same fields years before.  

“The biggest thing for me is to get the guys together and have fun. I want them to play the game and team them the things that I’ve learned being in the game,” Franchetti said. “I’m trying to get these guys to mature as a ball player and a person.… I’ve been there as a player, so I want to implement it to these guys.”

This isn’t Franchetti’s first role as a team’s manager — he’s currently a coach on Quincy University’s team, serving as the lead JV coach and assistant coach for the main team. He’s enjoyed the experience and found it as a way to identify with his players, serving what’s in the best interest for his team.  

The manager knows what players want in summer league: an opportunity to play. He knows that players are looking for an opportunity to improve and prepare for their collegiate seasons. The one thing Franchetti knows his players want is the thing that he can offer.   

“The coaching factor,” Franchetti said. “What I’m looking forward to is teaching the things I am used to. My number one thing is to get these guys reps on the mound, reps as far hitting goes and getting them to be comfortable.”  

That coaching factor will need to be exhibited early, as Franchetti inherits a young team consisting mostly of freshmen and sophomores. There will be more teaching moments for the coach, but also an early opportunity to implement the rules of success that Franchetii believes will be the key to not the team’s success, but also the success of the individual players.  

A young team might seem daunting for many, but for Franchetti, it’s an exciting challenge that he knows might work to their benefit in the style the team will play throughout the season.  

“We’re probably really a blue-collar kind of team, a scrappy team,” Franchetti said. “We’re looking at a younger team, that is what I am looking forward to the most, trying to get them acclimated to how the season works.”  

The introductions will have to wait, though. Quincy is currently in Texas playing in the playoffs, meaning Franchetti will have to wait before meeting his team. The coach might not see his team until June 6 or 7 if Quincy goes all the way, but he knows the wait will be worth it.  

He’s waited this long, so what’s one more week?  

“I haven’t been home in like two years, besides the holidays,” Franchetti said. “To be able to go home and work with these guys. I just love Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland guys. They’re blue collar guys and they know what they need to do.”  

The Vikings will look to improve on their 18-26 record from 2016.