Woodruff didn’t plan on being a coach, but quickly became one of the game’s best

By ROBIN FAMBROUGH
Written for the LSWA

Many things about M.L. Woodruff’s life paint the picture of an old-school baseball coach.
His meticulous focus on fundamentals and love of working a natural grass field paved the way
for 13 state titles at Parkview Baptist.
As he contemplates induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Woodruff is filled with
wide-eyed wonder and poignant true confessions.
“This is a story about God putting me in places I never belonged,” Woodruff said. “I never
wanted to be a coach. But I needed a job, so I became a coach.
“And now, a guy who went to Robert Livingston Academy is going into the Louisiana Sports Hall
of Fame. How crazy is this? It’s wild … beyond my wildest dreams.”
Woodruff made history in 27 seasons as a high school coach. He built the Parkview baseball
program from scratch and won 79 percent of his games. His 603-163-2 record included 11
LHSAA titles and two LISA titles.
“In my mind, the first thought is why did this take so long,” former PBS player Kyle Hawthorne
said. “No doubt coach Woodruff deserves this. He won and he made us better players and
people at the same time.
“The lessons I learned – and the drills we did – I have my own kids do every day. That is what a
coach is supposed to do: develop better players and people. I think he did it as well as anyone.”
Woodruff and the Eagles often made it look easy. But looks can be deceiving. Woodruff’s life
and career prove that point, and have earned his place in the LSHOF Class of 2023. The
Induction Celebration is July 27-29 in Natchitoches, with information and tickets available at
LaSportsHall.com or by calling 318-238-4255.
Now-defunct Robert Livingston Academy was located on Plank Road near the Baton Rouge
airport. The sky was seldom the limit athletically speaking for the Louisiana Independent School
Association member.

“A big part of my story is this – I don’t necessarily love to win … but I do hate to lose,” Woodruff
said. “I went through that. My junior year I played basketball and baseball and both teams
finished 1-20. I never wanted my players to feel that way.”
Despite those negatives, Woodruff spent a couple of years on the LSU baseball team. Future
LSU coach Paul Maineri was part of the program at that time. Future LHSAA commissioner and
Hall of Fame member Tommy Henry was a graduate assistant coach who put young players
through drills one season.
Still, nothing fueled a desire to coach within Woodruff. A major life change did.
“I was a P.E. teacher at Freshwater Elementary in Denham Springs,” Woodruff explained. “I
took the place of a guy who moved to a high school for one year. He came back after that year.
I needed a job.
“They had a position open at Doyle. I would teach coed middle school P.E. They told me I would
be an assistant football coach and head baseball coach. I had not played football since seventh
grade, so I was not sure about that. Since I played baseball at LSU a couple of years I figured
‘Baseball, well, maybe I can do that.’ ”
But the reality was more complicated. At age 23, he was just a few years older than the seniors
he coached. As a single parent with two young children, Woodruff had more than high school
players counting on him.
The trajectory of Woodruff’s life and career changed after one “coaching moment” that
counted as neither a win or loss could.
“I had a catcher named Mike Stovall. He had a strong arm but could not throw anybody out.
The reason I did not want to coach is because I thought the older kids would disrespect me … I
was fearful,” Woodruff said. “He was about 6-foot-3 and I’m 5-9. I was only about five years
older. I knew I had to coach him. I was not sure he was going to listen to me.
“So, I told Mike to see me before practice. I told him what he needed to do. To my amazement,
he listened to every word I said. I felt on that day, God saying, ‘You can do this.’ I knew I could
teach P.E., but that was the first time I thought I could coach. I have not seen him or talked to
him since, but he is part of my story. This is why I say God put me in places I never belonged.”
Another life-changing moment happened months later. Woodruff got a call from legendary
Baton Rouge coach/administrator Leon McGraw, who was building an athletic program at
Parkview, then a new school.

“I get this call from coach McGraw and he says, ‘Can you come in for an interview now.’ I told
him I had been running errands and I had my daughter with me,” Woodruff recalled. “And he
said, ‘Well, bring her on … bring her with you.’
“He told me he wanted to start a baseball program and that in another spring sport, he had
hired Boots Garland, a track coaching legend. When I got up to leave, coach McGraw said, ‘You
know, I like you. I am going to hire you.’ ”
Just like that, Woodruff became head baseball and boys basketball coach at Parkview, a school
without a baseball field or a team. The Eagles finished 1-20-1 the next spring. Back-to-back LISA
titles followed as the number of students in the school grew. The Eagles were 45-2 in those two
seasons before PBS joined the LHSAA.
Moving to Parkview was another divine intervention moment. His children came to Parkview
where a welcoming group of players’ parents and coworkers helped care for his son and
daughter for several seasons before he remarried.
“Parkview was a very special community and place that gave me what I needed as a teacher,
coach and a parent,” Woodruff said. “Coach McGraw was a great mentor for me.
“My children sacrificed a lot in those days because I spent so much time coaching and building a
program. I do think about that. Really, I am not sure I would have survived anywhere else.”
Woodruff and the Eagles thrived. Among the 11 LHSAA titles, were five Class 3A titles in a row
between 2002-06. Woodruff’s efforts were consistent and painstaking. Fundamental drills and
attention to detail were program ideals, not merely ideas.
“I remember when the dugouts did not have roofs on them,” Freddie Joseph said. “I put my
initials in the first concrete that was poured. Those were the best times of my baseball career. I
learned a lot from coach Woodruff.
“We did drills every day. I did not realize the importance of it at the time, but I was part of the
first championship team at Parkview. Then, I understood all that work paid off.”
Joseph’s role in Woodruff’s story is unique. His father was Woodruff’s assistant coach at Doyle
and he played on that team as an eighth-grader. Joseph transferred to Parkview for his final
two high school seasons.
Stories about the drills and Woodruff’s love of working the Eagles’ natural grass field are as
legendary as the things Parkview did on that field. There was a fielding drill in which a wooden

glove with a felt strap was used. No stone was left unturned in the Eagles’ scouting reports. The
same was true for the PBS field.
“We would spend Friday night at school in the gym, get up in the morning to practice and then
we would work the field,” Hawthrone recalled. “We stood side-by-side and checked the dirt.
Any pebble or rock was removed.”
It is no surprise that Woodruff is not fond of artificial turf fields. A neighbor made a child-sized
mower for Woodruff when he was six, so a love for working the field came naturally.
“Turf is great for a lot of things I’m sure,” Woodruff offered. “Nothing builds toughness and
teamwork like having your players put a tarp on the field and then take it off.”
There was more to Woodruff’s methods than being a taskmaster.
“When he coached, he always reached out to mentor young coaches. He still does that now
through his (Istrouma) sports ministry and Bible study for coaches,” said Darron Mitchell, who
succeeded Woodruff at Parkview after spending 11 years as an assistant.
“I tell people all the time now that I was spoiled by being his assistant. I used to say ‘M.L., you
delegate everything.’ And he would say, ‘No, Mitch, I empower people.’ What he was doing was
preparing us for the future. When I got to be a head coach and later an athletic director, I was
prepared for it.”
There were lighter moments too. When Woodruff gave players a stern lecture, Mitchell says he
would turn around and smile, asking, “How did I do?” There was a time when Woodruff took off
his uniform pants to give them to an embarrassed player who had left his pants at home. Or
those times when he forgot his belt, one sock or his baseball cap.
The story no one knew involves a postgame speech Woodruff never had to give and the photo
taken afterwards. PBS fell behind Catholic-New Iberia 4-0 in the 2006 Class 3A title game. Their
catcher fainted due to the heat. The Eagles made some miscues.
“We lost to Teurlings (in 1990) and I made a mistake. I said things after the game I should not
have said,” Woodruff explains. “So, I wrote this get-beat speech and I kept it with me. I wanted
to say the right things if it happened again. I had it (speech) in my pocket. It did not look like it
was going to be our day.
“Those guys believed in the process, (and) each other and won. They were amazing. There’s this
picture of me smiling ear to ear – but not because we won. Yes, I was just glad we did not get
beat. That represents who I am.”