ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Liberal Bee Jays will have some new faces on its staff for the upcoming season.
Mark Goodman and Jared Bennett will be joining the coaching staff as assistant coaches for the upcoming season, and both of them know the game very well.
“This will be my 19th season of coaching, and I've coached at multiple levels of the game, including high school, junior college, NAIA, D2, and professional leagues,” Goodman said. “I've coached in summer college leagues, including the Canadian Western Baseball League and the Northwoods League, and I even had a coaching stint in Moscow, Russia. This past season, I coached the University of Colorado's club team, and before that, I spent three years at the Colorado School of Mines. I've spent the past two summers as the pitching coach for the Rocky Mountain Vibes in the Pioneer League. I also played baseball for several years myself at multiple levels, and I'm coming from Arizona.”
“I'm originally from Texas, and I played college baseball at Tarleton State University in 1997 and 1998, and I finished my academics at Texas Tech University 2001,” Bennett said. “I moved to Oklahoma and coached summer league baseball beginning in 2008. My coaching journey also includes working with club ball organizations, and I served as the president of an all-sports organization that oversaw basketball, baseball and football, among others. I was also the baseball for that league as well. I also coached some junior high baseball, and my first college coaching job was at Randall University. My entire coaching career spans from 2008 to 2025. I've also got a wife and five children, and we're all excited to be part of such a great organization.”
Both Goodman and Bennett said their love of the game of baseball ultimately sparked their interest in coaching later on.
“I've been playing pretty much my entire life, since I was about 6 years old or so. Coming from Arizona, that's what a lot of kids my age did when I was growing up, so I went along with it and grew up with the game and had a great time,” Goodman said. “A big reason for me was wanting to keep my scholarship playing. I was done playing but hadn't graduated yet, so my coach said if I came back and took a spot on the coaching staff, he'd continue my scholarship. I was also playing independent ball at the time, so that also had a hand in my wanting to start coaching, and I ultimately just ended up really liking it.”
“I love baseball and love teaching the game. When I had the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level, at that time, I decided to stick with the younger age groups because I enjoyed bringing the game to the younger players and teaching them the fundamentals and share my passion of the game with them,” Bennett said. “I love the team aspect of baseball and how EVERY player is important. When I was growing up, I learned how to play every position because I knew every position was super important to a team's success. Baseball is also kind of a funny game because you can fail and succeed at the same time – i.e., you can strike out twice in a row but then later on have a huge hit that can make a difference in the game. I also love the strategy involved because you have to not only be in your head but also the other team's head and be a step ahead of them so you come away with the win. It's not just athleticism involved, there's a lot of extra thought and strategy that comes into play, so to speak. Baseball is a game that also lets you teach a lot of life lessons, and I enjoy using those lessons to see individuals grow not only as athletes, but as people as well in terms of how they deal with adversity and failure. The love of the game, for me, and being able to use the game to teach some life lessons is really what keeps me going.”
Ultimately, those journeys brought Goodman and Bennett to Liberal.
“I'd seen the opening online, and since I'd coached a few teams in Colorado, I'd come up against the Bee Jays before and I know they're a pretty historic program in that area, so I felt it would be a good idea to take the leap and have a couple months' fun in Kansas,” Goodman said. “I'm looking forward to seeing us hopefully bring a championship back to Liberal and help these players learn some skills they can take back to their schools after the season finishes. I also want to help the team get as many wins as possible and have some fun along the way with everyone, I'm excited to see the level of talent we've got for this coming season. Liberal's been good to me as a coach with visiting teams, so I expect that'll be about the same now that I'm officially a Bee Jay myself.”
“I know Jared [Mayeda] through the coaching world, and I'd originally planned to be coaching in a collegiate league down in Corpus Christi, Texas, but that didn't materialize the way I'd expected,” Bennett said. “I knew it was a good opportunity to coach at a high level with high-quality players, so I reached out to Jared and talked to him about the position. I really felt like this would be a better opportunity because of the history of the program and the quality of the players, and it's just a great chance for me to coach at that higher level. I'm excited to come and work for an organization that really supports everyone in the program, from the coaches and athletes and staff and everyone in between. The Bee Jays organization really supports everyone involved in the program and what they do, and that was huge for me, and all of that really got cemented after talking with Jared and doing some more reading on the Bee Jays and the history of the team and everything else.”
Overall, Goodman and Bennett agreed, there is a lot to be excited about with the upcoming season.
“I'm just really looking forward to working with everyone on the team. I can't wait to see what I can teach the guys, and I'm also excited to see what I end up learning from them since baseball is first and foremost a team sport where everyone can learn from everyone else,” Goodman said. “I'm looking forward to working with the pitchers, we've got to make sure we've got the right guys in the right positions from day one so we can get as many wins as possible and be as successful as possible. I've really enjoyed working with the players on the different teams I've worked with and helping them make it as far as possible in their playing careers, including a few who have reached the major leagues. Pitching will probably be my main focus since that's been my role with the other teams I've worked with, though I have also worked as a hitting coach. If everyone gives each game their all, I think we'll end up having a really successful season.”
“I'm looking forward to meeting the Bee Jays players and coaching staff, and I'm excited to meet the other teams' coaches throughout the season,” Bennett said. “I'll be the hitting coach and also help with batting practices and things like that, so that will be my main focus. With the guys who are coming in, and with the high skill level of the players, my biggest thing will be focusing on mindset and being aggressive at the plate so they can get more hits and be more confident on the field. With these players, they're already good and got on the team based on their athletic talent, so I'll be looking to help maybe clean a few things up and help make their mindset more positive. I'm looking to growing as a coach myself and learning from the guys because like I said earlier, baseball truly is a team sport where everyone's important. I'm excited for the day-to-day work and being on the field and working with these highly competitive players and coaches. I'm looking forward to getting to Liberal for the summer, and I hope to do my part in helping the Bee Jays continue such a historic tradition!”
