Sapa looking forward to coaching baseball team
Bill Sapa in this 2022 photo.
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
Bill Sapa, a man who is no stranger to Columbia Falls baseball, will coach the Wildcats in their inaugural baseball season next spring.
“I wanted to give back to the kids and community that has been good to our family,” Sapa said in a recent interview.
Sapa owns and operates the iconic Blue Moon Bar and Nite Club in Columbia Falls. He was a standout baseball player for the Glacier Twins under coach Julia Delgado and played for the University of New Mexico in college.
He was drafted as a left-handed pitcher by the New York Yankees, but never played professionally as that same year his brother Jimmy and fellow baseball player Ray Johnsrud were killed when their car collided with a train.
Bill Sapa came home to support his family instead of playing professional ball.
The Sapa-Johnsrud baseball fields in Columbia Falls are named after them.
When the Wildcats take to the field this spring, they’ll play at Sapa-Johnsrud.
Sapa has also been an assistant football coach under Columbia Falls coach Jaxon Schweikert for the past 10 years.
He said both Delgado and Schweikert have greatly influenced his coaching philosophy and he’s learned a lot from both men.
He said Delgado was “the greatest motivator I’ve ever been around.”
Not only did he teach the fundamentals of baseball, he taught Sapa self confidence and how to stand up for yourself under trying circumstances. In short, never give up.
Sapa hopes to bring that same fighting spirit to the new baseball team, as Montana for the first time in its history, approved baseball as a sanctioned sport earlier this year.
Sapa had kudos for Schweikert as well.
“His attention to details is unbelievable,” he said.
Sapa graduated from Columbia Falls and played football as a running back in addition to baseball.
He said he expects the Wildcats to be competitive “right out of the gate.”
Some familiar young athletes in Columbia Falls sports are expected to play baseball, including Cody Schweikert, Jace Hill and Sapa’s son, Reggie, to name a few.
They’ll start practice in March and the season will run through May, like most spring sports.
All told, Sapa expects about 50 ballplayers to come out, enough for a JV and varsity squad.
He expects coaching help from some standout Columbia Falls ballplayers from years past, including Josh Fields, who played professionally, as well as Brandon Rice and Scott Corbett.
“It all kind of fits together,” Sapa noted.