Educators have one of the most difficult jobs out there, especially those who decide to teach high school students.
On top of that, a handful of teachers choose to follow their passion for a sport or activity and also serve as a coach. Whether it’s in music, mathematics, or sports, these teacher-coaches spend countless hours devoting time to their students.
Science teacher Reyne Armbrust became the assistant cheer coach in 2023. She has always had a passion for teaching and helping her students in her classroom, and she decided to share that passion further with the cheer team.
Though she just started coaching two years ago, Armbrust had been teaching for many years before that, so she can easily tell the difference between being a teacher and being both a teacher and coach.
“I have less time to put towards teaching because after school I have to rush out of my room for practice,” Armbrust said. “That has impacted me, so I just have to get here earlier in the morning to get all of my teaching stuff done and ready to go. It is hard, but I love getting to spend time with the girls.”
Other teachers, like choir teacher Casey Allen, coach their students in year-round activities. Although Allen is technically referred to as “director,” many see her as a coach as she leads multiple out of school activities: the musical, varsity show choir, five barbershop groups, vocal jazz choir, on top of three in-school choirs.
“Sometimes I say that my day doesn’t even start till three o’clock. I do have my three choirs I work with throughout the day, but then after school I have a show choir or musical,” Allen said. “It is hard sometimes, but in the end it’s so worth it to see the growth in my students and watch them have their lightbulb moment.”
Beyond sports and music, there are so many other activities that our teachers spend a lot of their time doing.
For example, math teacher Chris Peters is the robotics coach, and he spends all day some Saturdays with his team during their season between October to February. His classroom is also full of robotics gear and equipment.
“My job is to teach the students how to learn, how to problem solve, and how to think using an engineering design process,” Peters said. “I’m there to be their cheerleader, their secretary, and their chauffeur. All the greatness comes from their brains.”
As a student body, we should pay more attention to all of the work that our teachers who also coach us put in. They work just as hard, if not harder, than us, and we should show a lot of gratitude for them.
