“He said ‘I won’t sign until that Lions tournament is over,’” said Dale Welter, remembering fondly. Welter is a consultant for the Minnesota High School Coaches Association and has helped to organize the tournament for the last 15 years. “He said ‘I want a complete high school experience.’ That’s just Joe.”

For Welter, a former Chaska baseball coach and avid participant in these tournaments, that memory is just another reminder of just how much this “last hurrah” means for many outgoing seniors. Typically scheduled a week after the state tournament (and this year a little earlier, with the state games pushed back due to scheduling and weather), the all-star tournament envelops an entire weekend dedicated solely to baseball. Four teams – representing the North, South, East and West areas of the state – play a series of six games woven between practices, a tour of Target Field, and other team-building activities.

As the tournament has grown – fielding four teams now instead of two – the weekend has cut some of its other events, such as the home run derby and throwing contest. But Welter said the real focus is on having the opportunity to honor as many of the talented kids state-wide as possible.

“Now, with four teams, we can get 80 kids, and now you’ve got 800 to 1000 people [in attendance] that all have interest,” Welter said. “It really is a great, great atmosphere.”

 And more importantly, he said, it gives a large body of kids from different geographical areas a chance to bond and enjoy in many ways, their last high school experience.

“The players – they’re just bitter rivals on the field and then when the weekend is over, they’ve got their arms around each other,” Welter said. “I think it’s just tremendous. It’s an all-star game but it’s amazing how they come together.

“You’ll see many guys later that come back and say I still communicate with guys 25 years ago from that all-star game. You won’t be able to experience that again.”