ABOVE: Levi Becker, pictured, is the team manager and player for the Fairmont Martins.

FAIRMONT – Levi Becker plays for the Fairmont Martins amateur baseball team, but he’s also the team manager. After starting his coaching journey in 2018, Becker took time out of his busy schedule to help Sentinel readers get to know him a little better.

Caleb: Where and when did you start coaching?

Levi: The first time I started coaching, I was the legion coach. And that would have been in 2018, I started coaching the legion team, that was when I first got into coaching.

Caleb: Favorite sport that isn’t baseball?

Levi: I’d have to say basketball, we had a lot of fun. We had a really good group. The grade above me, the grade below me, we were pretty successful. We were really successful in baseball through high school, but basketball was probably second.

Caleb: What was your playing career like?

Levi: I was a three-sport athlete in high school. Played football, basketball, and baseball. My family’s from Northrop. Baseball is our passion, so we’ve got facilities out here [Northrop], too. Growing up, baseball was definitely our passion. I played high school ball there. And then went to NIACC, which is in Mason City, Iowa. I played there, and then I decided to go to South Dakota State to go to school for what I actually do for a living now, and that’s farming.

Caleb: What kind of message or mantra do you try to convey to your players?

Levi: [In 2020] we [the Fairmont Martins] won the state, Class C state title that year. And then 2022, as a coach for the high school team, we won the state title. And I guess what I’ll say is, you know … obviously, it takes a full team effort, my grandpa said it, too. It takes three, three grades together to win a title, that’s more towards, like, the high school team. As we had sophomores, juniors, and then our seniors were huge. Then you look towards our Martins’ success. We had veteran guys that had been around for, you know, 10, 15 years playing town ball. You also have the younger guys, too. So you look at it, and it takes a total team effort to put it all together to win a championship.

Caleb: Are there any superstitions you follow?

Levi: Yeah, that’s a funny question, because, coaching with Matt Lytle and Don Waletich is, we always have to sit in the same seat on the bus. So we always go back to, ‘Oh, well, you know, we wore this when we played in the state tournament,’ or, you know, we’ll bring back the playoff mustache. That’s kind of always been a go-to. But, as far as wearing certain clothing for baseball games, no, I wouldn’t say so.

Caleb: What do you enjoy most about coaching?

Levi: Definitely being around, like, the youth in playing, whether it’s the high school team or Martins’ team, for the high school, as we’ve been there before and kind of know, you have some keys to success. And just teaching those young guys. Obviously, we’ve got a good system for having these youth come up through the Fairmont Baseball Association. And that’s huge. But, you know, playing college ball, too, and even with the Martins, there’s a whole bunch. You saw on Sunday, there’s a bunch of guys that play college baseball. And once we get those younger guys to come up, we’re constantly just teaching them things. It might be just a small thing in the world, but a small thing can definitely go a long, long way. And obviously winning. I love to win. So that’s the whole reason why I coach, there’s just nothing better than winning.

Caleb: If you could pick any ballpark in the country to play at, which one would it be?

Levi: I think I’d go to Fenway Park. That’s the most historic ballpark. I think anybody would die to play there. It’s just the history behind it, Fenway is legendary. Oh, the big baddie in left field. Aas kids always hitting wiffle balls in the backyard. And I’d always try to be David Ortiz, Big Papi. So, that’s why I think I’d go with Fenway Park.