The Cranbrook Rocky Mountain Bandits are in an enviable position at the end of the 2010 North Idaho American Legion baseball campaign.

Their coach has pledged to come back, and a sizable core of young players is already excited to return for next season.

Barring any unforeseen developments, Kyle Krustangel will be back for his third season as head coach.

“When I took the job, the one thing I told Rob (Hunter, former team president) is I’m not going to be another one-year state coach. I want to be here for a run and I want to progress the kids and keep the program going,” said Krustangel.

Assistant Landon Scott is “85 per cent” certain he’ll be able to return next year too, while Paul Mrazek is slated to continue as pitching coach and team president.

Krustangel said he was happy to see his club play higher quality baseball this year on their way to an 8-32 record.

“Sure we only had three or four more wins this year, but we had a handful of one-run and two-run losses. Last year, we’d either win by one or lose by 10,” said Krustangel, who noted he and his staff have recently fielded dozens of compliments by phone, e-mail or in person from folks impressed with the progress they’ve made.

“It’s all for the kids and how much they’ve bought into what we’re trying to teach them and how competitive they are,” he said. “We’re the youngest team out there and we’re fighting like we’re the toughest team.”

A good example of that: 14-year-old Brenden Maisonneuve, who missed a couple of weeks of baseball leading into Districts. He wasn’t feeling great down there, but better than Rylan Durban who was throwing up during Game 2.

He took the infielder’s place, collecting two hits, a stolen base and a run. In 39 previous at-bats, he’d had three hits.

“He put the ball in play hard two times in a row. Something like that, man can he build off that,” said Krustangel, noting the likes of Taylor Blackburn, Carter McDonald and Matt Sontag also all had similar moments throughout the year.

“All of them had good bits and pieces that you don’t usually get until you’re 16 or 17, and they got them at 14 or 15,” he said.

“They’re all such great kids and hard workers. They’re shaking my hand every day, saying thanks to all of us. It’s unbelievable how nice and awesome those kids are.”

The Bandits have 13 players eligible to play again next year, and Krustangel has fielded calls from four more athletes who are interested in trying out in 2011.

As incentive, Krustangel is already planning a six-day road trip to Seattle next summer. Playing games on the way there and back, the Bandits will also get to see Krustangel’s beloved Mariners play at Safeco Field.

“I’ve never seen a team so excited and so ready to go for next season. Memphis (Vondracek) had the biggest smile on his face,” said the coach. “Overall, it was just a fantastic, fun year. We had some great wins, that Libby game (a final inning comeback) was picture-perfect for our three guys for their last home game. It was just awesome.”