I Will Always Be There For My Students, At School or At Home

I always want my students to know that I will always be there for them no matter what. I know what it is like to be in their shoes. It is hard being in high school and trying to grow up at the same time. You have teachers to answer to, homework that is due, deadlines to meet, tests to take, and peer pressure everyday. I want all of the students to know that whether they are in my class or not, my door is always open and if I cannot help them figure a situation or problem out, I will find them someone who can. You should feel safe at school, you should feel like you can talk to your teachers about anything, and I want them to know that I am willing to listen and help. If they need a ride home, a place to stay, someone to pick them up or call when their in trouble, I want to be that person. Every kid deserves a chance to succeed, and every kid will have a problem. I just want them to know that they do not have to face it alone.

Winning Is Not Everything

I love to win. I love everything about winning. I love seeing hard work pay off. I love seeing the smiles on my player's faces. But winning is not everything. There are reasons why my players and future players are called student athletes. Students come first and so does their education. A good education will last anyone much longer than superior athletic ability. High school athletes face some of the biggest challenges of any student. They go to school, then practice for several hours, then they play games both at home and on the road which cause them to get in late at night, and then they still have to study and do homework. It's not easy for them, and I will not make it easier on them. I will not do like some schools have been known to do, and just feed them the answer, because that cheats the both of us. I will hold a study group before or after practices to make sure my student athletes get the extra help they need to try to take some of the pressure of high school off of them. I don't want to be mistaken, I want to win, but I'd rather be certain that all my players graduate at the end of the year.

Failure Is Not In My Vocabulary

I want to always make sure that my students and my players never fail. Failure is not an option. You may not pass a test, but you can look back over the material, find the mistakes you made, and try not to make them again. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is perfect. I realize that there is no way to achieve perfection, but that does not mean that we shouldn't strive for it. It you want to be successful, you never give up, you never say die. You press forward with every bit you have to give, and you will do anything but fail. A student may not pass a test, we may lose the championship, we may come up short of the goals we set, but we did not fail. Failing only occurs when you quit. Failing comes to your mind when your tired, when you believe you have nothing left to give. But no matter how tired or frustrated you are, you never give in, you never quit, and you never fail. Failing is not an option.

The Reason I Am A Coach

I have always loved sports. I grew up playing any sport that was offered. I remember watching, my favorite player, Larry Bird play his last game. I remember Micheal Jordan winning six World Championships with the Chicago Bulls. I remember growing up loving the Denver Broncos football team, and more importantly, loving to watch John Elway lead them on game winning drives time after time. I loved going to games with my dad whether it was football, basketball, or baseball. I loved being part of the crowd, and I loved watching my favorite players make big plays. I loved sports no matter who won. My first love was basketball. It was an intriguing game. I started watching films of old games from the 70s, when there was no three point line or shot clock. It seemed to be a better game then for coaches, because you really had to be strategic, it was like both coaches were playing a chess match and one false move could cost the coach and his team the game. Now i have my own team, the Escambia Academy Cougars. I stay up late at night and wonder what I will say to them, I wonder what will inspire them. The funny thing about coaching is that you can graduate everyone of your players, but if you don't make the playoffs you can lose your job. Yet at the same time, I think that is what makes it so exciting because you never know whats going to happen. It's your best five players against their best five players and anything could happen. I think the biggest thrill I get out of coaching is when the game is tied, and there only a few minutes left. The players look to me for a play, I draw it up, they go out and execute it, and together, we win the game. I can't think of a better feeling. But coaching is bittersweet, and I can think of a worse feeling than losing. But losing is only a real loss if you learn nothing from it. And you can always learn from a loss.

The Reason I Want To Teach

As a teacher, I hope to educate my students to the best of my best ability. I hope that all my students will respect my opinions and views, and understand that I only want the best for them. I want every single one of my students to succeed. I want them to graduate and I want them to further their education and go on to college. I want to be the teacher that students can trust. If my students have a problem either in school or away from school, I want them to feel that they can come talk to me. I will do everything in power to make sure that they have every educational opportunity. I want to help them get scholarships, accepted to the colleges they want to get in, and most importantly, I want to help the grow into a responsible, independent, successful adult and productive member of society.

My Dreams of Teaching

I didn't always want to be a teacher. I wanted to a professional basketball player, a police officer, an astronaut, and any other occupation kids dreams about. I didn't even dream of teaching until I was a Junior in high school. My Junior year I transferred to Escambia Academy where I met to great coaches, Heath Gibson and Kevin Woods. Coach Gibson was my football coach. He taught me how to be a leader and how to lead both vocally and by example. He also taught me that nothing is handed to anyone and you must work for everything you get. Coach Woods was my basketball coach. He taught me about being disciplined, perseverance, and teamwork. He didn't base our playing time on ability, but what you did with your ability. After I graduated, I had a few offers to play NCAA Division 3 football but I turned down both offers because they were both far away from home. I tried to find local colleges where I could make the basketball team, but I never made a team. I knew I had what it took mentally took see what was happening on the court, but I didn't have the ability physically to execute that plan. That is when I knew I wanted to be a coach and a teacher.