While the school's nickname is the Battlin' Miners, the softball team has affectionately become known as the "Big Blue Machine." Attribute that to the varsity team's eight state championships that were won in 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005 and 2011.
Minersville Area Superintendent M. Joseph Brady said that softball team's success has not only been due to the coaching, but because of the exceptional students that play on the team and excel in the classroom.
While Brady said that the high school's baseball, football and basketball teams have all had success, it's due to the students having embraced the theory that they want to be champions. They put in the hard work necessary to achieve that goal, and softball has obviously stood out.
"I believe the coaching has been outstanding, but the program has been developed through the early grades," he said.
Minersville has also had a coaching staff that pioneered the program.
Ken Schneck, who passed away Jan. 26, 2011, at the age of 74 at Tremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, guided the Minersville softball team to six state championships and more than 500 wins.
He spent 26 seasons as head coach, posting a record of 546-103 (.841) and captured state championships in 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1993 and 1999.
In his 11th season now, Schneck's longtime assistant, Dave Homa, took on the head coaching position once Schneck retired.
Along the way, Schneck went 37-10 in state playoff games, won 13 District 11 championships, 23 Schuylkill League division titles and compiled a 58-10 record in district play.
Then there's "The Streak,'' a stretch from May 1, 1984, to April 8, 1997, in which the Battlin' Miners won 184 consecutive league games.
Schneck set a high standard, and it was up to the rest of the Schuylkill League to match it, according to Republican-Herald archives.
Affectionately known as "Pop,'' the school district surprised Schneck by renaming the high school softball diamond "Ken Schneck Field'' in 1999.
"I've always been committed to the idea that there have been lessons learned from teamwork and dedication that are always as valuable in experience as is also true in the academic side," Brady said. "One does not diminish the other one. They enhance each other."