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MHS baseball coach offers parting words

By Staff | Jun 14, 2012

As a teacher and coach, I’ve always stressed to my students and athletes the importance of integrity and what it means to have strong character.

In that light, I want to clarify the circumstances that led to my resignation last week as varsity coach of the Merrimack High School baseball team.

I have coached for 10 years, and there are times when emotions during a game run high, particularly during controversial calls. During one of those situations, I was ejected from the game and incurred a two-game suspension from “game events.”

Not considering a warm-up as a part of a “game event,” I hit balls for fielding practice before the quarterfinal game but left the stadium before the game began.

Unfortunately, my interpretation of what constitutes a “game event” was wrong – warm-up before the game is deemed by the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association as part of the “game event.” To prevent MHS from having to forfeit that game, and thus be out of championship contention, I resigned.

Resigning as Merrimack’s baseball coach was very difficult for me. I love coaching and I love baseball. During my tenure in this position, I have coached hundreds of student-athletes, hopefully teaching them as much about character and life as about baseball.

Despite having to leave, I want to let the community know that I enjoyed being a part of the MHS community and have high respect for its administration.

I want students and athletes to know there are times when even if you think you are doing everything right, something goes wrong. That’s OK, as I had the privilege of coaching many fine young men, working with great colleagues, and enriching the high school experience in Merrimack.

I thank all of you. Go, Hawks! Win the championship!

Ryan Anderson

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