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A local college coach is getting a second chance at starting the path to his dream job, after turning down a similar chance a decade ago. But good things come to those who wait.

Riverland Community College head coach Scott Koenigs recently accepted a position as Associate Scout for the Kansas City Royals. Koenigs will still coach at RCC, but he will also scout out talent for the Royals while making his regular recruiting trips for the Blue Devils.

"I like to watch baseball and I watch a ton of baseball over the summer. So it's not really a job for me, it's enjoyment," the Koenigs said. "It'll be a little more traveling and a little more baseball. It goes hand in hand with what I'm doing at Riverland. Not only will I be scouting kids for here, but I'll be looking at guys that are too good to play here, like guys who are Division I types of players or draft guys."

Koenigs had a chance for a similar position with the Atlanta Braves 10 years ago after he finished his two year tenure as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Kansas.

"I turned it down because I missed my family and friends back here," Koenigs, who is in his seventh year at RCC, said. "While it was great to be around family and friends, over the years I kind of regretted it a little bit and wondered what if I was with the Braves at this point in time. Where would I be?"

That's what prompted Koenigs, who has a master's degree in sports administration, to send his resume out to various Major League Baseball teams six weeks ago.

To his surprise, five or six teams replied and he took the first offer which came from the Royals and Koenigs couldn't be happier.

"It's something you dream about, but you don't know if you'll ever get the opportunity. I just kind of threw my resumes out there on a whim to see what would happen and good things happened," he said.

The position is an entry level job with the Royals, and Koenigs said the team liked his experience with recruiting at Kansas — where he worked on charting pitches, using a radar gun, and breaking down film, and they were pleased with his degree.

"It may lead to a full time position down the road and it may lead to bigger and better things," he said. "My dream job is to become an assistant general manager for a major league team. This kind of gets my foot in the door, and who knows what will happen after this."

Koenigs' job responsibilities will be to spot possible talent for the Royals and notify his boss, Scott Melvin, the team's Regional Scout. After being notified, Melvin will come out and give the players a second look.

Photo by Eric Johnson

Riverland baseball coach Scott Koenigs stands at the snow-covered baseball complex from where he coaches the Riverland Blue Devils baseball team from. Koenigs will also be spending his time scouting for the Kansas City Royals on top of his coaching duties.

"If I see a high school kid throwing 90 miles per hour, I better pass his name over to Scott," Koenigs said.

Koenigs is responsible to scout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

Koenigs gained a lot of baseball knowledge through his playing years at Southland, Fergus Falls, Community College, Minnesota State at Mankato and Winona State.

"You continue to learn and I don't think you ever stop learning new things. You kind of act like a sponge and learn from every coach," Koenigs said.

Koenigs expects his promotion to bring in some solid talent for his Blue Devils teams.

"I really think this is gonna help us bring in better players here at Riverland," he said. "There's kids that have that dream to play Major League Baseball and if they know they can play for a coach who has that connection, that's gonna help them come here."

Koenigs led RCC to a 19-11 record last season and his team has improved each season since he arrived. Koenigs also coached Grand Meadow/LeRoy/Ostrander's baseball team for two years.