Our Program Staff
Manager of Angels Softball - Mike Gappa
We are excited to announce our newest addition to the #angelsfamily - Mike Gappa, Manager of Milwaukee Angels Softball.
Coach Mike Gappa grew up in Greenfield, WI. He attended Whitnall High School where he played baseball and football. He led the baseball team to a conference title in 2000 and an appearance in the state semi-finals in 2001 as well as the first two football conference titles in the school's history in 1998 and 2000. After high school Coach Gappa played baseball for Lakeland University leading the team to three conference titles and a 5th place finish in the College World Series in 2002. Coach Gappa was a member of the New Berlin Lakers in Land O'Lakes from 2000-2011 where he was a 9-time All-League catcher, 2004 and 2010 Grand Championship runner up, and finished with a career .476 average along with 31 home runs. He was elected to the Land O Lakes Old Timers Association Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
After graduating from Lakeland in 2005 Coach Gappa began his goals to coach and help create great experiences in youth sports. Coach Gappa has been coaching baseball/softball teams since 2006. He has been a head coach in youth football since 2018 and coaching boys/girls basketball since 2010. Coach Gappa has spent a lot of time in leadership positions the past 10 years including spending over 6 years running the Whitnall softball program, vice president of the Whitnall Booster Club, and president of Whitnall Youth Football/Cheer. Coach Gappa began coaching high school softball at Whitnall in 2019. In 2023, Mike Gappa became the Whitnall High School Head Varsity Softball Coach.
Coach Gappa has shared his passion for sports with his children and they have grown up on the ball field. His daughters are a senior and junior at Whitnall High School. His son is currently in 7th grade at Whitnall middle school. His oldest daughter recently signed her commitment to follow in her dad's steps and will be a catcher for the Lakeland University softball team starting in the fall of 2023.
Pitching Instructor - Lara Stachowski
Lara grew up in Hales Corners, WI, where at the age of 7 she started playing recreational softball for a local organization. As her love for the game grew quickly, at 8 years old she began pitching for their U10s travelling team. Lara continued playing in ASA Class A and B tournaments until U16, while also playing Varsity Softball for Whitnall High School, receiving 2nd team all-conference as a freshman. During high school she pitched for multiple club teams, playing in tournaments across Wisconsin, and Northern Illinois year-round. Lara has been trained on proper advanced pitching techniques and live ball scenarios. Her main goal is for the next generation of softball pitchers to understand the significance of the sports fundamentals. While also learning the importance of injury prevention. With spending a decade of her life on a softball field. She has extensive knowledge of the game, which she is excited to share with the next generation of athletes.
10U Angels Softball - Katie Mitchell
Katie grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and started playing softball at the age of 8 for the Oak creek Little League. At the age of 9 she joined the local travel team, the 10U Queen of Diamonds. Her passion and love for the game grew for the next 8 years as she played through 18u ball traveling all throughout the Midwest in ASA tournaments. As a high schooler she attended Oak Creek High School and started at shortstop her Freshman year and continued in that position throughout her senior year. She won honorable mention her freshman and sophomore year, she received first team all-conference for infield her junior year and in 2016 she earned a spot on the All suburban softball team. During her senior year in 2017 she was proud to play in the WFSCA all-star softball game. Her senior year Oak creek team headed to the state tournament where they came up short but she states it was where every girl hopes to end up during their career and was one of her best softball experiences. After taking a few years off to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education she has spent the past couple of years helping coach young girls during the winter months to prepare them for their summer seasons. Katie hopes to help the girls grow in their skills and mechanics and also hopes to help them keep the passion for years to come in their careers. She is finally ready to jump back into the sport she has always felt a connection to.
12U Angels Softball - Emyli Kreiser
Emyli started playing softball when she was 8 years old and has loved the game ever since. She played travel ball locally being part of a team that won competitive Class A exposure tournaments, and a National Tournament. In high school she won a State Championship as a full-time varsity starter. Following high school, Emyli started as a freshman for Ripon College where she tied the school record for most doubles hit in a game, had one of the highest batting averages on the team, and tied for most homeruns hit that season. She finished out her college career at Lakeland University.
Emyli’s playing experience provides her an extensive knowledge of the game which she recently used as a coach with the Greenfield Ignitors and Sussex Hamilton. We are excited to have her join the Angels where she can share her knowledge and be a positive role model to our players.
12U Angels Softball - LIz Malko
Coach Liz Malko grew up in New Berlin, WI where she attended New Berlin Eisenhower and played primarily third base and outfield. In additional to high school, she also played for Greendale Competitors 16U. Her senior year, she helped lead the team as captain to State semi-finals in 2004.
After high school, she played for Alverno College as utility, primarily Centerfield, Pitcher, and Catcher. Coach Liz has been coaching since 2021 with the Whitnall Youth Fastpitch program for Rec and Select. Currently, she is the Head Coach for 12U Whitnall Youth Fastpitch.
Her goal is to share her love, passion, and knowledge of the game. She believes that Fastpitch isn’t just a sport; it’s a journey, it’s an experience, it’s a family. She will work to teach/reinforce solid fundamentals but also to help unleash potential, build confidence and sportsmanship, train the mental part of the game, and to create a positive environment with a thirst for knowledge, competition, and fun!
14U Angels Softball - Chad Dornbach
Coach Chad Dornbach joined the Milwaukee Angels Softball last year as a Head Coach for our 12U team and will coach the 14U this year. He has seven years of head coaching experience in baseball and has spent six years as a softball head coach, previously with the Waukesha Blazers. Dornbach has been a staple in the softball community, and it has been fun to watch his teams and players develop under his leadership. Chad will also help coach our fall and winter clinics.
16U Select Angels Softball - Jim Becker
Jim will be the Head Coach for our 16U select team in 2022-23. He has 12 years of experience with both travel baseball (8U-16U) and softball (10U-16U) as well as high school softball. Jim is the current President of the Muskego Athletic Assoc. He started and runs the MAA Flag football league for the past 9 years with 400+ kids. Jim is a WIAA certified umpire and lives by the words “Fall down 7 times, get up 8”. Please join us in welcoming Jim to the Angels Family.
