There’s something special about being on the dirt early in the morning or under the lights at night. It’s hard to explain, but anyone who’s experienced it understands. It’s a feeling that stays with you forever, and for so many athletes and families in North Idaho, Brian and Kathy Stranger have been the reason that feeling exists.

In 1991, Brian and Kathy began serving in the local developmental league, now known as KGSA. Just two years later, they founded the Coeur d’Alene Crush travel program. At the time, it was slow pitch, but when Idaho high schools transitioned to fast pitch in 1995, they didn’t hesitate. They simply decided to learn.

And learn they did.

With little fast pitch experience but plenty of determination, they loaded up two 15-passenger vans full of 12- and 13-year-old girls and headed to California for a two-week road trip, playing teams all along the way. It was about learning to play the game, but it was so much more than that too. They returned home not only with many memories, but with new-found knowledge and confidence.

Seven years later, that same foundation had produced seven state championships and a regional runner-up finish. Along the way, athletes built friendships, resilience, and belief in themselves, including two sisters who would go on to win an Idaho State high school championship together at Coeur d’Alene High School.

But the story didn’t stop there.

After that first generation graduated, Brian and Kathy started again, this time with a 10U team that they coached all the way through high school. That group would earn multiple state and regional titles and even a national championship. Over the years, Brian and Kathy helped lead and mentor over 116 teams within the Crush organization. Kathy continued serving on the KGSA board, and Brian coached at Coeur d’Alene High School before helping grow the program in Post Falls. 2026 marks the 29th annual Crush Tournament, a testament to decades of steady commitment.

In 2005, alongside the Crush community, the Strangers built what players affectionately call “the dome” in their backyard, a training space complete with infield dirt, batting cages, and pitching rubbers. For over 20 years, it has been a place where athletes learned to work, to compete, and to believe in themselves. That’s how Brian and Kathy operate: when they see a need, they find a way to meet it.

In 2018, a 3rd generation stepped onto the field. Crush Academy was re-born, and once again young athletes gathered in the dome to learn the fundamentals of the game. Brian has always had a gift for breaking down skills in a way that makes sense, whether teaching a nine-year-old how to throw properly or explaining how to turn a double play. He expects athletes to do things correctly, believing that strong foundations prevent future limitations. He is a true student of the game, constantly learning, constantly refining.

That spirit of innovation is perhaps best captured in his development of InMotion Playbooks, an online tool using animation to teach essential defensive rotations. InMotion Playbooks is now used by thousands of youth, high school, and college coaches across the country, including programs like the University of Florida Gators softball team.

Over more than three decades, from t-ball fields in cow pastures to high school stadiums, their philosophy has remained consistent:

• Fundamentals matter.

• Team comes first.

• Potential is worth investing in.

• Good people build strong communities.

They didn’t recruit all-stars. They developed local athletes. They didn’t cut kids who needed time. They committed to them. They believed that with teaching, repetition, and encouragement, young people can grow into far more than they initially imagine.

Now, kids of their former players are leading Crush Academy and the next generation of leaders. That is the legacy Brian and Kathy Stranger have built: teaching, innovation, service, and an unwavering belief in others.

They were never paid. They never expected recognition. They simply loved the game and the people in it.

And because of them, countless athletes know that unforgettable feeling of being on the dirt — early in the morning or under the lights — ready to compete, confident in themselves, and part of something bigger.

It is an honor to celebrate them and the extraordinary impact they’ve made.

Patti (Stranger) Davenport, 2026