Sacred Heart‘s Anthony Goodrich hangs up the whiteboard after 19 years coaching likes of Matthew Pavlich and Kane Cornes
HIS name may not be known to many outside college football circles but Anthony Goodrich’s roll call of former players is long and contains several AFL stars.
HIS name may not be known to many outside college football circles but Anthony Goodrich’s roll call of former players is long and contains several AFL stars.
Goodrich had been Sacred Heart’s First VXIII coach since 1998 before stepping aside this season.
In that first year, Fremantle champion Matthew Pavlich was the dominant player in his squad.
Kane Cornes, Andrew Mackie, Hamish Hartlett, Jason Porplyzia, Jared Rivers, Jack Redden, Cory Gregson, Alex Neal-Bullen and Ryan Burton were among those to feature in Goodrich’s teams over the next 18 years as Sacred Heart enhanced its standing as one of SA’s best producers of football talent.
Goodrich, 54, says he is lucky to have been in the role for so long and is already missing it.
“It sounds a bit corny but the highlight has been seeing kids develop,” says Goodrich, who remains at Sacred Heart as a teacher.
“I still teach a footy class (at the school) now and you have kids in your mind’s eye where you think ‘you could be anything’.
“When you see them harness that and put it out on the oval, it’s great.
“I’ll really miss the kids and game day – game day because you can’t get enough of beating good opposition and can’t get enough of singing the song.”
Goodrich estimates more than 30 of his former charges have been on AFL lists.
He is often asked to name the best players he has coached but struggles to separate individuals.
“The obvious one is Pav. His ability to dominate in any position – forward, back, on-ball.
“Kane was terrific, very driven. Hamish was starring when he was in Year 11.
“Then there’s a guy like Craig Fitzgerald who pound for pound was as good as anyone but he’s an unknown.
“He had horrific knee problems and played a bit for Woodville-West Torrens but I remember him being able to do excellent things in school footy.”
Getting Goodrich to name the most talented crop he has coached is not much easier.
“The 2002 team stands out – that was Mackie, Porplyzia, Jared Rivers, David King who got drafted to Collingwood.
“But then there’s probably been teams since that could have been just as good or better.
“My runner (of 19 years) John Baldwin, who’s helped me a lot, and I sometimes thought ‘gee, we’re watching a really good team’.
“You’d like to organise a game of footy.”
Originally from Broken Hill, Goodrich is a Sacred Heart old scholar whose own football career includes captaining the school’s First XVIII in 1980 and reserves games for Norwood.
“I sound like everyone over the bar but I didn’t have a lot of luck with injury and didn’t want to play badly enough.”
The former centre half-forward went on to coach younger Sacred Heart teams before taking on the senior role 19 years ago.
Goodrich, who has been replaced by ex-Glenelg player Jon Symonds, finishes on a high after steering Sacred Heart to its second Messenger Shield title last season.
He says Saturdays are now for watching his son Clem play for Sacred Heart Old Scholars, spending time with his daughter Ellen and going to school games as a supporter.
“I run into lads now that I coached 15 or so years ago and they’re established in their careers, and I get a great kick out of them saying ‘g’day’, and being able to reminisce about how much fun they had in school football.”
AFL PLAYERS COACHED BY GOODRICH INCLUDE:
Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide)
Andrew Mackie (Geelong)
Hamish Hartlett (Port Adelaide)
Jared Rivers (Melbourne/Geelong)
Jason Porplyzia (Adelaide)
Cory Gregson (Geelong)
Ryan Burton (Hawthorn)
Jack Redden (Brisbane/West Coast)
Alex Neal-Bullen (Melbourne)