Jaguars coach richly deserves honor

While discussing the honor of having the only number retired in any sport at Blue Springs South, Richard Wood had a typical self-deprecating moment.
“You always go back to the win-loss record, and I look at some of my teams and think, ‘We should have won a lot more games looking at those kids,’ ” said Wood, the only head baseball coach in South history. “I was looking at a team picture with (American Idol hopeful) David Cook in the middle, and I was like, ‘That was a good group.’ Then I looked at another photo and said, ‘That was a good group.’ ”
Before Thursday’s doubleheader with Chrisman – the last regular season home games for Wood who is retiring after this season – the veteran coach was presented with a framed replica of his No. 9 jersey, as activities director Mark Bubalo announced it would be removed from the roster.
He said that including this year’s 20-3 squad – the team with the best winning percentage in South history – Wood’s winning percentage was better than 60 percent for his career.
But it’s not just the final scores of the games that makes Wood a winner – it’s just how classy he is.
For a reporter, Wood is a dream to work with. Always willing to return a call or alter things to help us better cover his players, Wood has definitely made my job easier over the last three years – in baseball and girls tennis.
And his players really play hard for him, and were thrilled to see the longtime coach honored before Thursday’s games.
“That’s such a big thing, him being the first number retired,” senior shortstop Riley Reynolds said. “We were trying to go out with a bang.”
Reynolds was one of three Jaguars who helped end Wood’s final regular season with a “bang,” as he, Jeff Lusardi and Kirk Huismann each hit a home run in the doubleheader.
It’s fitting that Wood’s final season – his 16th as head coach – would be his best. In between games, a large number of seniors were honored, seniors who had been a part of this program for the last three years.
Those seniors – and juniors like pitcher Derek Cox – are all hoping to send Wood out with the storybook ending he deserves – one that Blue Springs fans watched Wildcats coach Brad Mayfield get last year when he won a state title in his final year as head coach. Wood was a longtime assistant of Mayfield’s before being named South’s head coach.
“It means a lot,” Cox said of being part of Wood’s last team. “He’s put in a lot of hard work in the program. We want him to go out on top like Mayfield did. We want him to go out with a state championship.”
There is still a lot of baseball to be played between now and the state championship game – and the Jaguars are in perhaps the toughest district in the state.
So, for now, Wood is enjoying the ride while preparing for the district run. Looking out of the home dugout, Wood was sitting next to Bubalo between games with a clear view of the banner in left field that bears his name and his number.
“It’s pretty cool,” Wood said.
Pretty cool indeed. And it couldn’t have happened to a better guy.