SE: Goedert Looks to Lessons from Family During Latest Chapter of Baseball Life
Apr 08, 2020 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
There's not much in common between Grainger Stadium in Kinston, North Carolina and Lee Elementary School in Manhattan.
One is a minor league ballpark, home of the Carolina League's Down East Wood Ducks. The other, home of the Longhorns, is on a hill surrounded by family neighborhoods and Greek houses just a few blocks from K-State's campus.
Only Jared and Audrey Goedert can appreciate the similarities between them.
"I wish I would have picked her brain sooner on the tactics and techniques of education, because there are ways that are going to lead to success based on how you communicate," Jared Goedert said. "I've always appreciated teachers, but I have an entirely new appreciation for what they do, having my own set of 12 to 15 hitters a year."
The former K-State baseball player is preparing for a season as the Wood Ducks hitting coach, as part of the Texas Rangers organization. While the sports world is on pause due to COVID-19, Goedert is back home in Manhattan, where Audrey teaches second grade at Lee Elementary.
Goedert was in Surprise, Arizona last month when the Rangers suspended Spring Training along with the rest of MLB. Instead of Kinston, where he was set to begin his first season with the Wood Ducks, Goedert got in his car and made the 18-hour drive back to Manhattan.
"You're rolling right along, full speed, and our big-league team was only about ten days away from breaking camp," Goedert said. "Our big-league starters were at like five innings [in Spring Training games] and then boom, everybody just headed in completely different directions."
This time of year, Goedert is usually rising up the coaching ranks of the Rangers organization. After spending 2016 as an assistant with the Spokane Indians, Goedert took over as hitting coach of the AZL Rangers, a team of prospects getting their first taste of professional baseball.
Goedert has moved up a level with the Rangers organization every season and will coach at High-A when the Wood Ducks return to the field in 2020. With the Hickory Crawdads in 2019, Goedert's hitters led the Atlantic League in home runs (142), OPS (.742), and slugging (.417).
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an entirely new coaching experience for Goedert.
"We have some staff Zoom meetings, but I also have Zoom meetings with hitters that I was likely to be with this year," Goedert said. "The majority of them are very limited like everyone else. They might have access to a facility, but right now they can't use it. They're limited to taking swings in their living room or if they have a cage in the backyard, hitting off a tee."
During a normal season, Goedert said he is able work more closely with each individual – one of the difficulties of coaching his players remotely is encouraging them to take ownership of their routine.
Without access to the equipment and facilities that most baseball players take for granted, Goedert is focused on things like movement prep to help keep each Rangers prospect engaged.
"One of them might be working on stretching their hip, because their hip isn't feeling as mobile as it should and that's not allowing their swing to work as efficiently," he said. "So yesterday's topic of conversation was, if you don't have access to things that we usually do, get creative. Instead of using a medicine ball, put laundry in a laundry bag and toss that against the wall."
Goedert hasn't always had access to MLB-quality equipment. He began his college career at Cloud County Community College in Concordia before transferring to K-State for his junior and senior seasons from 2005-06.
He hit .339 over his career in Manhattan and was a ninth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2006.
Following the Wildcats through over a decade in professional baseball, Goedert said it's been incredible to watch K-State baseball take the field at a newly renovated ballpark.
"I sound like my dad, because he would come watch me play and talk about how this place is not even close to when he played at K-State. If he wanted to use the bathroom, he had to go out to the trees behind the outfield wall," Goedert said. "We had great facilities when I played here, but the transformation is very impressive."
When his playing career ended after the 2014 season, Goedert returned to K-State to finish his degree. Soon after, he headed to Spokane to get his start in coaching.
The son of a former K-State baseball player and a mom who taught for three decades, Goedert said that conversations with Audrey have been a constant during his time in the dugout.
"Whether it's at the dinner table or phone calls late at night if I'm away, we can share some similar war stories," he said. "It's crazy how much overlap there is in some of the situations that we are put in on a daily basis."
As Goedert looks ahead to the next season in his baseball life, he's kept another lesson from the classroom at Lee Elementary in mind to guide his players through this challenging time.
"I'm not a big goal guy. My wife will appreciate this because she introduced me to this thought process, but I'm more about developing good daily habits," Goedert said. "I think you should have a goal, but your focus should be on the habits you need to achieve those goals."
There's not much in common between Grainger Stadium in Kinston, North Carolina and Lee Elementary School in Manhattan.
One is a minor league ballpark, home of the Carolina League's Down East Wood Ducks. The other, home of the Longhorns, is on a hill surrounded by family neighborhoods and Greek houses just a few blocks from K-State's campus.
Only Jared and Audrey Goedert can appreciate the similarities between them.
"I wish I would have picked her brain sooner on the tactics and techniques of education, because there are ways that are going to lead to success based on how you communicate," Jared Goedert said. "I've always appreciated teachers, but I have an entirely new appreciation for what they do, having my own set of 12 to 15 hitters a year."
The former K-State baseball player is preparing for a season as the Wood Ducks hitting coach, as part of the Texas Rangers organization. While the sports world is on pause due to COVID-19, Goedert is back home in Manhattan, where Audrey teaches second grade at Lee Elementary.
Goedert was in Surprise, Arizona last month when the Rangers suspended Spring Training along with the rest of MLB. Instead of Kinston, where he was set to begin his first season with the Wood Ducks, Goedert got in his car and made the 18-hour drive back to Manhattan.
"You're rolling right along, full speed, and our big-league team was only about ten days away from breaking camp," Goedert said. "Our big-league starters were at like five innings [in Spring Training games] and then boom, everybody just headed in completely different directions."
This time of year, Goedert is usually rising up the coaching ranks of the Rangers organization. After spending 2016 as an assistant with the Spokane Indians, Goedert took over as hitting coach of the AZL Rangers, a team of prospects getting their first taste of professional baseball.
Goedert has moved up a level with the Rangers organization every season and will coach at High-A when the Wood Ducks return to the field in 2020. With the Hickory Crawdads in 2019, Goedert's hitters led the Atlantic League in home runs (142), OPS (.742), and slugging (.417).
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an entirely new coaching experience for Goedert.
"We have some staff Zoom meetings, but I also have Zoom meetings with hitters that I was likely to be with this year," Goedert said. "The majority of them are very limited like everyone else. They might have access to a facility, but right now they can't use it. They're limited to taking swings in their living room or if they have a cage in the backyard, hitting off a tee."
During a normal season, Goedert said he is able work more closely with each individual – one of the difficulties of coaching his players remotely is encouraging them to take ownership of their routine.
Without access to the equipment and facilities that most baseball players take for granted, Goedert is focused on things like movement prep to help keep each Rangers prospect engaged.
"One of them might be working on stretching their hip, because their hip isn't feeling as mobile as it should and that's not allowing their swing to work as efficiently," he said. "So yesterday's topic of conversation was, if you don't have access to things that we usually do, get creative. Instead of using a medicine ball, put laundry in a laundry bag and toss that against the wall."
Goedert hasn't always had access to MLB-quality equipment. He began his college career at Cloud County Community College in Concordia before transferring to K-State for his junior and senior seasons from 2005-06.
He hit .339 over his career in Manhattan and was a ninth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2006.
Following the Wildcats through over a decade in professional baseball, Goedert said it's been incredible to watch K-State baseball take the field at a newly renovated ballpark.
"I sound like my dad, because he would come watch me play and talk about how this place is not even close to when he played at K-State. If he wanted to use the bathroom, he had to go out to the trees behind the outfield wall," Goedert said. "We had great facilities when I played here, but the transformation is very impressive."
When his playing career ended after the 2014 season, Goedert returned to K-State to finish his degree. Soon after, he headed to Spokane to get his start in coaching.
The son of a former K-State baseball player and a mom who taught for three decades, Goedert said that conversations with Audrey have been a constant during his time in the dugout.
"Whether it's at the dinner table or phone calls late at night if I'm away, we can share some similar war stories," he said. "It's crazy how much overlap there is in some of the situations that we are put in on a daily basis."
As Goedert looks ahead to the next season in his baseball life, he's kept another lesson from the classroom at Lee Elementary in mind to guide his players through this challenging time.
"I'm not a big goal guy. My wife will appreciate this because she introduced me to this thought process, but I'm more about developing good daily habits," Goedert said. "I think you should have a goal, but your focus should be on the habits you need to achieve those goals."
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Texas Tech
Sunday, February 22
K-State Women's Basketball | Tess Heal Senior Video
Sunday, February 22
K-State Women's Basketball | Mikayla Parks Senior Video
Sunday, February 22
K-State Women's Basketball | Senior Night Ceremony 2025 - 2026 Season
Sunday, February 22
