Post 320 head coach Jim Brandt will leave the Post 320 program after seven years at the helm.

Rapid City Post 320 will have a new head baseball coach for the 2012 season. Jim Brandt, who has been the skipper for the Stars for seven years, will retire at the end of this season. Paul Pool, now an assistant in the Post 320 organization, will take over as the head coach of Post 320 in the fall.

“Jim Brandt has done so much for Post 320 baseball, and we greatly appreciate his time with the program,” Post 320 president Paul Winter told IDS on Thursday. “With Coach Brandt’s retirement we couldn’t be more excited that he is passing the torch to Paul Pool, who brings a lot success and experience with him.”

In his seven years as the head coach of Post 320 Brandt has a record of 258-155, highlighted by four appearances at the South Dakota state tournament, and a runner-up finish at the state tournament in 2009.

“We’ve done some good things here over the last 13 years, we’ve had a lot of ups and some downs, but you just know when it is time,” Brandt told IDS from Minnesota Thursday. “It’s time to pass the program to someone else, and it couldn’t be in better hands than it will be with Paul Pool.”

Pool is in his first season as an assistant coach with the Post 320 program and is also an assistant football coach with Stevens High School. He moved to Rapid City from Allen, Texas, where he coached high school baseball at the highest level in Texas (5A) for 13 years.

Pool said that he has the highest expectations for the Post 320 program.

“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think we could take it to the highest level here,” said Pool. “We want to compete for a state title every year. Ultimately, we want to get to the American Legion World Series and win it. Those have to be the goals and obviously we are going to have to work quite hard to get that done.”

Pool brings a strong resume. As the head coach of Allen High School, Pool led them to a 272–113 mark and eleven post-season appearances. He had 87 players move on to play college baseball, 19 to Division I universities, and had seven players selected in the Major League Draft. Pool was also named District Coach of the Year twice and Dallas Morning News Coach of the Year once.

Paul Pool has been named the new head coach for Post 320.

“Coach Pool was a very successful coach of a large baseball program, and his vision for the future of the program is in line with our vision,” said Winter. “We want to be more competitive, develop a tougher schedule, and stress a year-round baseball regimen. We want our coaching staff to have the best chemistry and cohesiveness possible from top to bottom.”

Will the identity or vision of the Post 320 program change with the hiring of Pool? 14 years ago, when Post 320 formed, much of the programs vision was focused on recreational baseball that provided an opportunity for players who did not want to make the time commitment required by the Post 22 program. Players for Post 320 can have jobs, attend off-season camps and workouts in other sports, and they play a less rigorous schedule than Post 22. Winter says the program is now looking for a balance.

“We want to expand the competitive nature of the program,” said Winter. “We want to move in the direction of a tougher schedule and a year-round regimen. But it is a balance. We want our players to play multiple sports, have a job if they choose, and have a regular life outside of baseball.”

Brandt will coach the team for the remainder of 2011. The Stars are currently 21-17 this season and playing their final regular season games in Minnesota this weekend. Post 320 will open post-season play on Wednesday, July 20 against Sturgis in the Region 3A Tournament at Fitzgerald Stadium. They will be looking to return to the state tournament after failing to qualify in 2010.

“We hope that we can play better this post-season, that’s obvious,” said Brandt. “We’ve shuffled people around and we’ve had some injuries and it is going to be tough. There are some strong teams in the region, Post 22 has had an excellent year as always, and Sturgis, Pierre, and Spearfish will compete tough. We hope that we can play a little over our heads.”

Brandt has coached baseball at all levels for more than 40 years. He coached Legion baseball in Milroy, Minn. for two years before moving to Rapid City in 1963 and assisting with Post 22 for two years. Brandt then coached Little League and Pony League baseball for 37 years before joining Post 320.

“I haven’t been this happy in a longtime,” said Brandt. “I still have a lot to do and I’m looking forward to doing new things. I still learn something new everyday. But you can feel when you’re maxed out. I was a teacher for 36 years and I knew when it was time, just like now. There are so many people in this community that have helped me and the program, including my great coaching staff. Most of them never even want recognition, but they helped so much. I just happened to be the head coach.”