Baseball coach teaches players a lesson in personal responsibility

By all accounts, Michael Goodrich is a good man and a good baseball coach. He started the Waverly (Neb.) High School baseball team five years ago. Goodrich also coaches the Waverly Class B American Legion team in the summer. Waverly had advanced to play rival Hickman-Norris in the state championship game last Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, Goodrich conducted a final bed check to make sure his players were in their hotel rooms. All 14 young men were accounted for. Coach Goodrich went to bed. Police officers knocked on his door two hours later. Watch the KETV story below to find out why (email subscribers click here).



It's not clear if Goodrich would have faced discipline from the American Legion, but Waverly School District officials had no plans to take any action against him. He didn't leave the decision to someone else, though. Goodrich contends he does not know how his young players obtained alcohol or why they went on a vandalism spree. He told the Omaha World-Herald, "I have a lot invested in a lot of really good young men. But being the head coach, I'm responsible for the actions of this team and I accept that responsibility."

With the facts as they are, does Goodrich deserve to lose his coaching jobs? Probably not. His players are old enough and apparently sneaky enough to do a lot under the coach's nose. However, Goodrich understands that anyone who coaches or teaches kids is responsible for what happens to them - even if you had no idea what they were up to.

You need eyes in the back of your head and every other tired cliche there is when dealing with kids. And you still may not catch everything. In the end, Goodrich taught his players a very valuable lesson. Personal behavior has collective consequences. None of those kids wanted to see their coach lose his job or forfeit the championship, but their lack of personal responsibility caused those things to happen anyway.

Short of natural disasters, taking personal responsibility can help us all avoid potentially negative situations. Whether young or old, when you don't take responsibility for your own actions, someone else takes it for you. Goodrich took responsibility for his players and himself. This concludes the lesson. We'll see if the players received it.