Writing his own Story to a Successful Career

As a young boy, Michael Childers enjoyed athletics and he always wrote sports stories in the privacy of his own room. He loved Green Bay Packers football, he loved NASCAR racing and he loved Southwestern High School athletics.

Growing up, he loved his time playing football for the Oak Hill Wolverines, running varsity track and cross country at Southwestern High School, and he even drove his own version of the late Dale Earnhardt's Intimidator in his 2006 Chevy Impala.

But as he got older, he quickly learned that playing in the NFL or driving on the NASCAR circuit was not going to be in his future. However, he still loved to write about sports and he loved attending Southwestern sporting events.

"I was an extremely shy kid, and I never thought about sharing my sports stories with the public," Childers recalled. "I just enjoyed watching games and then writing about them. I never thought my work was good enough for a newspaper. I also didn’t want anyone reading what I had to write because of my shy personality."

With the urging of one of his cross country coaches – the late Frank Haynes – Childers got the chance to fulfill both of those lifelong passions when he started writing sports for the Commonwealth Journal during his senior year of high school. And it was during that time that Childers begin to define his unwavering work ethic and his near-perfect writing style.

"I took journalism classes during my junior and senior years at Southwestern, and my teacher was Anita Wilson," Childers stated. "In my junior year, I basically wrote about a girls’ or boys’ athletic event from the night before. I would write up something about the game, print it out, and then take it to Ms. Wilson for her to edit. I always enjoyed her feedback, because I wanted to improve and become the best writer that I could be."

"When I got the opportunity to work for the Commonwealth Journal my senior year, she would always look at my writing to see what I could do better" Childers said. "She always pushed me to be better, and I always appreciated that. I am very thankful for her advice. It used to take me forever to write stories, sometimes over an hour. As time went on, I learned to bust out a story much quicker. Nowadays, I can write a quality game story in less than 20 minutes."

As a reserved high school student, Childers soon learned to do things that were out of his comfort zone. He went to writing only about Southwestern High School sports to writing about sports in the other local high schools. He started talking to and interviewing adult coaches, who he had never met before, which is something he would have never done prior to writing for the newspaper.

"I was a very shy person, and I was not a fan of talking to people that I did not know," Childers admitted. "Being a sportswriter, I learned that I was going to have to talk to adults that I didn’t know and go places that I barely knew anyone. While I was nervous when I covered my first game outside the friendly confines of Warrior Land, it was really good for me. I began to talk to more people and do things that challenged me to get outside my comfort zone. It definitely helped me grow to be more confident in myself as time went on."

While attending Southwestern High School and Somerset Community College, Childers spent most of his evenings watching – and writing about – various local sporting events. But his workload became increasingly difficult when he started commuting to Eastern Kentucky University.

"I tried to schedule my college classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but sometimes I would have to drive to EKU on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays," Childers stated. "I typically had classes from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. After class ended, I would grab a really late lunch from somewhere in Richmond and then head back to Somerset. After getting back into town, I would try to run a few miles. Typically, running would have to wait until after the game."

"I would head straight to a local school to cover a game," Childers recalled. "After the game, if I didn’t have to go run, I would go home to begin working on the game story and then do some homework. Most of the time, I saved my homework for the weekends because I did educational observation hours in our local schools on the days that I didn’t have to drive to Richmond. I had to learn at a young age how to manage my time and stay organized."

Even after college, Childers stayed extremely busy teaching at Southern Elementary and Oak Hill Elementary. With a demanding career in education, a devout commitment to his church, his running, and his sports writing, Childers' daily schedule hardly allowed for a free second. But he did find some time to meet and fall in love with his wife Lauren Yates Childers.

"If you know me well, you know that my life is busy," Childers explained. "I’m very involved in my church. I have been married for four years to Lauren, and we recently had our first child named Luke."

"Over the last six years, I have coached tennis, been a quick recall coach and later academic league coordinator, served on numerous school committees, and earned two graduate school degrees while working as a part-time sportswriter," Childers stated. "My favorite hobby is running, and I run five to six days per week. My day typically gets going with a run at 4:45 a.m. I enjoy staying busy, though. I do not like to sit still. I do have to ensure that I manage my time well and stay organized. I have learned that if something is that important to you, you will make time for it."

Over the past 13 years, Childers has had to cut back on his sports writing with his busy schedule and growing family. But no matter what was going on in his life, he always wanted to be on the Southwestern High School football sidelines.

"Seeing Southwestern win their first football regional championship and being able to celebrate that with my brother (Christian Childers) is my top sports moment," Childers said. "Growing up, I always wanted to see Southwestern play in a state championship game, so seeing the girls’ basketball team play in the state finals at Rupp Arena in 2019 was a dream. I also get chill bumps when I go back to watch Logan Dykes’ steal and game-winning layup in Southwestern’s regional basketball championship win over Mercer County in 2018."

And just like a coach, Michael Childers still feels the pain of tough Southwestern football losses.

"Two losses that still sting are Southwestern’s football regional championship losses in 2017 and 2020," Childers recalled. "I felt like the Warriors had a real legitimate shot at making it to state in 2017, but they could just never get over the hump after a rough start against Harlan County."

"Last year, Southwestern shocked the state and almost beat highly-touted Frederick Douglass," Childers stated. "The Warriors gambled and went for the two-point conversion, but it came up just a few inches short. I remember the gut-punch feeling I had standing there on the sideline."

But Childers' local sports memories are not just linked to the Southwestern athletic programs.

"It was great witnessing Pulaski County win their first football state title in the pouring rain in Bowling Green, and watching Somerset win a football state championship on an untimed down at Kroger Field," Childers exclaimed.

After teaching one year at Southern Elementary and five years at Oak Hill Elementary, Michael Childers was offered the assistant principal and athletic director position at Southern Middle School. The added career responsibilities made it impossible for Childers to continue on with his part-time journalism gig. And for the first time in 13 years, Michael Childers will not be standing on the sidelines of a Southwestern High School football game.

However, sports writing for over a decade opened up avenues and allowed Michael Childers to meet new people. Journalism, although on a part-time basis, helped set Michael Childers on a successful course in his life.

"Becoming a sportswriter at 17 years old is one of the best decisions that I made," Childers stated. "If I had not become a sportswriter my senior year, I do not think my life would be the way it is today. I have learned a lot and displayed growth in many different ways. I was able to build so many great relationships with athletes, coaches, fellow sports media folks, administrators, and fans. I got to travel all over the state to places I probably would have never gone to."

"I was able to get paid to watch sports," Childers added. "How many people can say that they got paid to watch sports? Not very many. I consider myself blessed to have been a sportswriter for the Commonwealth Journal for 13 years."

The Commonwealth Journal was blessed to have such a great writer and representative in Michael Childers.

STEVE CORNELIUS is the CJ Sports Editor and can be reached at sports@somerset-kentucky.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CJSportseditor.