That's why I do it!

[wtrafton]

Working in the school allows me to do the other thing that I love to do. Coach. I have coached 3 sports per year for 6 years. Quite frequently I have athletes for more than one sport. One day I was in the gym after school shooting hoops and one of my former field hockey/track athletes came in and asked to shoot around with me. I was happy to have the company. We were talking about life and school stuff. I complained about missing a lot of my shots and said it was a good thing I didn't have to be a good player to coach. She told me that she once had a coach that instilled in her that as long as she was truly doing her best that was all that could be asked for. I thought that was so nice, as that is what I strive to teach my students and athletes, so I asked her who the coach was. She said, "It was you." I did my best to hold back my tears and thanked her for telling me that. From then on, in class or on the field/court, when I start to wonder why I do this, I remember that sometimes I don't know when I am making a difference, but I can't if I stop trying.

[busbus]

Working in the school allows me to do the other thing that I love to do. Coach. I have coached 3 sports per year for 6 years. Quite frequently I have athletes for more than one sport. One day I was in the gym after school shooting hoops and one of my former field hockey/track athletes came in and asked to shoot around with me. I was happy to have the company. We were talking about life and school stuff. I complained about missing a lot of my shots and said it was a good thing I didn't have to be a good player to coach. She told me that she once had a coach that instilled in her that as long as she was truly doing her best that was all that could be asked for. I thought that was so nice, as that is what I strive to teach my students and athletes, so I asked her who the coach was. She said, "It was you." I did my best to hold back my tears and thanked her for telling me that. From then on, in class or on the field/court, when I start to wonder why I do this, I remember that sometimes I don't know when I am making a difference, but I can't if I stop trying.

What a wonderful story. As I read it, I was reminded of the Hallmark Cards commercial when a former student gave a card to a former professor who was retiring. He asked her to read it because he couldn't find his glasses. When she finished reading it, he told her the title of her research paper and where she had sat in class. Then he asked her what great career she had chosen. She said, "I'm a teacher." He had to hold back tears. When the former student left, he picked up his glasses and read the card with the greatest smile on his face.

I saw you and your former athlete in this commercial. Yes, this is why you (and the rest of us) do it.

Thanks for sharing. I hope that you have more of these wonderful moments. :)

[sweetsass]

Thank goodness there's finally another coach here!

Nice to meet you.

I am one of those teachers who teaches so I can coach. I love it so much. I've coached girl's basketball for years, and to say it's fun and fulfilling would be an understatement.

The coach-athlete relationship is much deeper than the teacher-student relationship, because you often bond much more, and are able to help the child more.

The cutest thing of the season so far has been the way the girls have adopted some of the nicknames I gave them. (And mind you, it just popped out of my mouth and I hadn't planned it). For whatever reason, I started calling the smallest girl on the team (Carmella, and she is tiny), "Big C." She really likes that. Over the weekend she returned my call about practice for playoffs, and said, "This is Big C, coach - I got your message."

:)

[Boxcar]

That is a cute story. It is great that you are able to bond with your girls so much.

[wtrafton]

Thank you for your wonderful responses. I was a little nervous about posting it because it was so special to me and I wasn't sure I would be able to convey how it touched me. The bonds that I build with my athletes and students are very important to me. I do get burned out some times but feeling like I do make a difference is rewarding. I agree that I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to coach. Sometimes the burnout makes me consider another career, but I know I wouldn't be able to coach. For me coaching and working at school go hand in hand. When I am struggling with one the other keeps me going. It's helped me through some pretty tough times in my personal life and now that things are better than I could have imagined it's more rewarding than ever.

[wtrafton]

Oh and I love the nickname thing. This year in field hockey we came up with names to go with car parts to show how they all have to work together. They had so much fun with it and still use some of them. (Lugnut Lindsay, Cassandra Carburator)

[Miss.Amanda]

Thank you for your wonderful responses. I was a little nervous about posting it because it was so special to me and I wasn't sure I would be able to convey how it touched me. The bonds that I build with my athletes and students are very important to me. I do get burned out some times but feeling like I do make a difference is rewarding. I agree that I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to coach. Sometimes the burnout makes me consider another career, but I know I wouldn't be able to coach. For me coaching and working at school go hand in hand. When I am struggling with one the other keeps me going. It's helped me through some pretty tough times in my personal life and now that things are better than I could have imagined it's more rewarding than ever.

you did a wonderful job at getting across how touching this stroy is...i also think its so easy for all of us as teachers to appreciate those moments when you realize you made an impact on the way a child thinks...beautiful story

[MissTeach]

A few years ago our counselor told me that one of my former students came in and demanded that her child's schedule be changed so that her child would be in my class. She told the counselor that I had made her believe she was smart and could do the work. That made me feel.........GREAT!

Coaches- I have a son that went into education because he loves to coach. I was happy when he told me that he actually enjoys the teaching too! His school has had a lot of tragedies over the past three or four years and he has found that being a coach helps him reach out to the students who are hurting and need someone to talk too.

[sgaestel]

My coaching is a little different. I always wanted to be involved in the theatre, and wanted to direct.
I got into teaching with the mindset that I wanted to be the advisor to the Theatre Department and direct those shows. I was able to do so just halfway through my first year, which is VERY difficult to do. I had gotten lucky because the person who had done it before left right before I was hired.
My second year (this year) I was even given one theatre class each semester.
Needless to say, I am in heaven! We are working on our third show, and really building a program where one didn't exsist before (not very much). It is a blessing, but also a lot of work. Luckily, I love it!

[wtrafton]

It is so wonderful when we get to do what we love. I think when we are happy in what we do, it really makes a difference in how effective we are. Your right, coaching isn't only for sports!! Congratulations.

[hot_teacher]

...when I start to wonder why I do this, I remember that sometimes I don't know when I am making a difference, but I can't if I stop trying.

I love you for saying this! A real pick-me-up, one greatly needed this month!

[jdavis5]

A great retort to those teachers who post the sign that says: "Three good reasons for teaching -- June, July and August."