While students know and stress about how hard it is to balance a student-athlete profile, they don’t always think about how hard it is for a teacher and coach. Speak took on a handful of “news,” as she gained a spot as a varsity assistant coach for the softball team and taught her first year at Elkhorn North.
Before the move to Elkhorn, Speak lived in Hastings, for 16 years. Where she taught math and coached softball. Her coaching started in a volunteer position where she would assist the head coach, then eight years later she was able to adapt and become the head coach.
“I started looking five years ago for something new but dragged my feet,” Speak said. “When you’re comfortable with something you tend to stay, but an opportunity came where I was offered a job in Elkhorn and I went with it.”
The Wolves softball team also made their first state appearance this year, and Coach Speak played a large part. She put in many hours on and off the field with nonstop drills and practices, to push the girls, and help bring them to state.
“She put a lot of effort and her own time into our practice plans, and helped train us extra hard along with the other coaches.” sophomore first baseman Kelsey Daubert said.
The softball team built strong relationships with Speak in a short amount of time and noticed the work she put in.
“She is super encouraging and pushes us to our best.” sophomore catcher Reese Pearson said.
Another “new” for Speak came as she taught geometry for the first time this year. To learn a new material along with her students is challenging, but Speak made the adjustment.
“She has taught me new ways of learning that have helped me through tough problems.” sophomore Elyse Newby said. “For it being her first year teaching geometry you wouldn’t be able to tell.”
A teacher-student relationship and a coach-player relationship are both very special, and some are able to have both. Speak cares for her students and players with her advice when a player is in a hitting slump or staying after school when a student is struggling with a math problem.
Speak dedicates time to her students and makes them feel comfortable when they talk to her, school related or not. As a coach she is determined and aggressive. Speak wants to win just as much as the players, and the girls admire that.
Managing time being a coach and a teacher is difficult, especially in softball season. Speak spent the majority of her weekends at the school so her weekdays would be focused on her students in class and open for the softball team after school. Speak’s dedication to her team shows in the hours she spends with practice plans, scouting, and doing her research on other teams to get all the information she can about the next game. In the classroom she spends time with lessons and preparing for questions students may ask.
“I am able to have her push me to succeed on the field but then teach me math in class a day later where she also wants me to succeed.” Daubert said.
