How do you top a title?

That is the question that confronts the Eau Claire Express this season. For at least the next three months, they will be known as the “Defending Northwoods League Champion Eau Claire Express,” and with any luck and skill, they will get to use that description for an additional 12 months.

However, this is a team that will be trying to match a 2010 squad that not only set the franchise record for most wins in a season, but also finished the year ranked as the No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the United States. What would make 2011 an improvement? A playoff sweep? An undefeated season? An immediate all-team call-up to the majors to replace the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Dale Varsho is the man who will help determine the outcome of the 2011 Express campaign. Varsho is in his seventh season as Express manager, the only person at the helm of the team. I asked him about what lies ahead for the club this year, but first, Varsho told me what that championship feels like nine months later. “Winning the championship was nice, but that was then. You enjoy the moment for a while, but then you have to move on and start getting ready for this year.”

One of the biggest tricks facing any team defending its title is complacency and a lack of hunger once the ultimate team goal has been accomplished. Varsho thinks the excellence of the players can serve as a mechanism to keep the Express functioning at a high level. “The sheer quality of talent that we have hopefully assembled for this year’s team will hopefully be enough to prevent any players from becoming complacent. As a manager, I will keep everybody involved and get them playing time in situations where I think they can best succeed and help our team be the very best than it can be.”

Varsho knows, however, that the odds are still against a repeat. “The quality of competition we see from all of the other teams in the league will make a repeat difficult. Keep in mind that no team has ever repeated as Northwoods League champs. We wouldn’t mind being the first to accomplish that, but the development of our players is first and foremost.”

This is a good point. We fans are the ones who are most focused on winning titles. Yet the prime objective of the Northwoods League is giving college baseball players a chance to improve themselves during the off-season.

Speaking of which, Varsho says to keep an eye on players like outfielder Jonathon Rodriquez, relief pitcher Miguel Silva, and first baseman Gabby DeVaronna. He says the Junior College circuit has produced good players in the past, and that these three hopefully continue the trend.

Varsho does not see much of a change in how the Express will approach the season on the field. “Naturally, you hope that you are getting good quality players from the various programs and that you are able to keep everybody healthy. If we can have a good amount of depth and stay healthy, we will let everything else fall in to place.”

If there is one thread that will still define the Express, and always has, it is, in Varsho’s opinion, playing the game the right way. “Play hard, respect the game, and give our fans a good performance.”

A similar principle applies in the front office for putting together the right mix of players. “I think we have tried to assemble a group of players who are not only good baseball players, but also quality people. These players are representatives of the Eau Claire community and in the past have represented our organization at various community functions, so we want good quality people, not just good baseball players. The top priority for us is to develop players and take care of them while they are here which I hope impresses favorably upon their coaches and results in them continuing to send us good players.”

Regardless of how the Express finish this season, they have already won over the hearts of Chippewa Valley baseball fans. By that account, 2011 is already a success.