Goodworth retiring as Mars softball coach
ADAMS TWP — During her 24 years as head coach of the Mars Area High School girls softball team, Michele Goodworth coached 100 seniors.
She kept track — both on a spreadsheet and in their personal lives.
“I pretty much know where each one is now and what she’s doing,” Goodworth said of the seniors who went through her program.
But after 24 seasons, more than 190 wins and having sent 14 players on to college softball, Goodworth has decided to call it a career. She is in her 25th year as a learning support instructor in the Mars school district.
“Soul-searching might be too strong a term, but I decided I have to re-prioritize some things in my life,” Goodworth said. “It’s time to put my family first again.”
Goodworth and her husband, Dave — who served on the Mars football coaching staff for 28 years — have three children, all in high school at Mars. Lyle, a freshman, shoots trap in the Butler County league. Luke, a sophomore, is a three-sport athlete for the Planets and daughter Lillian, a junior, plays soccer and softball at Mars.
Kara Stroup Sroka played softball for Goodworth at Mars and went on to play college ball. She returned to serve as her assistant coach, lauded the coaching efforts of Goodworth, who was a Mars softball player herself.
“Michele committed herself to building a competitive program and surely succeeded,” Sroka said in a written statement. “While Michele has the hardware, wins, and players that moved on to the college ranks to show for a successful tenure, she also has served as a mentor to so many of her players.
“No matter if you were just learning the game, or college bound, you received the same care and respect.”
Goodworth’s career softball coaching record of 191-226 included 131 section wins and nine double-digit victory seasons. She played on the Planets’ first girls softball team in 1990.
Sroka, a standout player at Saint Francis University, and former Pitt slugger Erin Hershman were among the standout players to come through Goodworth’s program. Monica Glomb was a dominating pitcher on the Planets’ 2006 team that won the WPIAL championship.
“Monica was one of a kind,” Goodworth said. “She played a lot of softball. So competitive. She always respected the game and the opposition.”
Glomb is a member of the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. Goodworth is in the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame.
Besides coaching softball, Goodworth was an assistant coach for Dana Petruska and the Mars girls basketball program, for nearly a decade.
“My favorite part of coaching was teaching the girls, building relationships and friendships with them that lasted after they were done playing here,” Goodworth said. “I love anytime one of them sends me an email, a text, a written letter, thanking me for a life lesson they may have learned, asking if I’ll come to a wedding, somebody’s having a baby ... anything like that.”
Sroka said: “A coach who has her graduates come back and join her coaching staff is doing something right. Michele embodies the tradition of Mars Blue and Gold as a student-athlete, graduate, teacher, HOF member as well as committee member, and dedicated coach.”
Goodworth has an alumni Facebook page that helps her keep track of former players.
“I have a lot of special relationships with alumni,” she said. “It’s not about the wins and losses for me. It’s the life lessons and friendships that count the most.”
