Coming “Home” to Coach

For Andrew Wodrich ’07 returning to Bethel to coach Lady Pilots basketball has been a homecoming of sorts.

“I think the people make Bethel, and a lot of the people are still here from when I was going through school,” he says. “I have a ton of family here who are able to support me and come watch the games. It is like coming home, which is why I chose to come back.”

Bethel basketball was instilled in Wodrich from an early age.

“I remember watching those games when I was young,” recalls Wodrich. “I loved the environment, the atmosphere during the games. I just wanted to come and play.”

During his days as a student at Bethel, Wodrich played two seasons for the Pilots.

He began his coaching career in 2004 working for Midwest Basketball Academy, where he moved his way up to vice president and director of the Indiana Elite girls’ basketball program. In 2010, Wodrich worked as Director of Basketball Operations before moving into the role of assistant coach for the Lady Broncos at Western Michigan University.

Coach Wodrich talks to players during a Lady Pilots home game.

Two years later, he helped lead the Central Michigan Lady Chippewas to a Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship as well as a bid to the NCAA National Tournament. He was then promoted to the Offensive Coordinator and Co-Recruiting Coordinator for the 2013-14 season.

But a shot at coaching the Lady Pilots was a chance of a lifetime for Wodrich.

“For me to have my own program at the age of 29 was a special opportunity,” he says. “I just felt that was a lot of favor that I couldn’t pass up on.”

Though different than his previous coaching experiences, Wodrich’s first year coaching at Bethel has been positive.

“The girls are doing well,” he says. “Are they receptive? Yes. They are. Is it totally different? It certainly is, and they are adapting. Anytime there’s change it’s different … but it’s a process.”

Moving forward, Wodrich desires to see his team maintain a continued “commitment to excellence in all areas and become leaders and great young females in a society that desperately needs them.”