After Death of Longtime-Bagpiper Eric Goodchild, Boys' Varsity Lacrosse Tries to Maintain Team Tradition

CELINE CHANG/DEERFIELD SCROLL

A bagpiper leads the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team through the Jim Smith field before every game. This 35-year tradition was initiated by Eric Goodchild, a former music teacher and bagpiper at Deerfield Academy. His music career led him to use his specialty on the athletic fields, influencing players of multiple generations in different ways.

Goodchild (1960-2025) was a homegrown Massachusetts bagpiper born in Pelham and raised in Shelburne, where he and his wife Barbara later lived and operated the Barberic Farm. Alongside his work at the farm, Goodchild became known throughout western Massachusetts for his work as a musician and instructor, teaching bagpipes to students and performing at local ceremonies, parades, athletic events, and community gatherings. His involvement with traditional Scottish music extended across decades.

Goodchild was also featured in The Greenfield Recorder, a news publication in Greenfield, where he discussed his experience as a bagpipe performer.  “It gives me a lot of pleasure when I get a chance to play for other folks,” he said. Goodchild worked with students, teaching music and introducing them to the history and traditions surrounding the instrument itself. Through lessons and performances, he shared aspects of Scottish musical culture with younger generations across western Massachusetts. 

In 1991, he brought the tradition of bagpipes to Deerfield and introduced the practice of a bagpiper leading the Boys’ Lacrosse team onto the field before games. At the Academy, the bagpiper became tied to the opening moments of lacrosse games and the beginning of each season. Similar to the school chant “Aga-chi,” the music became part of the atmosphere surrounding Deerfield athletics and school customs. Over time, the tradition became associated with senior games and major matches throughout the season. 

Players said the tradition remains impactful today, emphasizing the team spirit within each player on the team. Caleb Regner ’27, a new player on the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team, said, “It fired me up the first time I heard it. I think it gives us an extra mental edge…. It makes you think about all of the people that have gone through this program, and you throw on that jersey, not just for you, but for everyone that’s ever worn it.”

Regner added that the team has discussed continuing the tradition by encouraging students to learn the instrument themselves. “We’re trying to get Giacomo Chapman ’26 to learn the bagpipes,” Regner said, “but it’s a struggle.” He also mentioned that programs such as University of Notre Dame have traditions involving student-athletes performing the bagpipe before games, something he thought could strengthen participation in the tradition at Deerfield and “bring [the team] closer together.” 

Other students connected the bagpipes to a sense of school identity and tradition. Olivia Port ’26 shared how she felt about the bagpiper during Lacrosse games: “I think it just makes me feel so much more connected to Deerfield, and makes you want to play just that little bit harder.” 

While the bagpiper had a positive impact on many students, the tradition also raised a concern for others. The bagpiper appears regularly at most Boys’ Lacrosse games, playing the woodwind instrument before the start of each match. However, Port observed that “they've only been at one Girls’ Lacrosse game”, noting an “inequality” within this tradition.

Eleanor DuPont ’26, a current player on the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team, offered her perspective on this issue. “The girls get the bagpiper once for their senior game, which is towards the end of the season,” she said, “so I feel like it doesn't really have that much of an effect on our team.”

Despite the stronger association of this tradition with the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team, it brought joy to the girls and all members. DuPont said, “It’s just something fun.”