In the classroom and on the court: teachers coaching athletes (Part II)

As a large part of the Aragon community, involvement in athletics doesn’t just entail students; teachers from various departments also work outside of the classroom to support athletes. Despite the time commitment, teachers involved agree that sports shape their views of students outside the classroom.

William Colglazier, a College Preparatory and Advanced Placement history teacher, coached varsity girls soccer from 2006 to 2012, starting as an assistant coach and transitioning to head coach in 2008.

“When I was student teaching here, I befriended the girls soccer coach at that time, Mike Flynn,” Colglazier said. “We talked soccer and watched soccer games.”

Colglazier stopped coaching due to the difficulties of balancing it with the rest of his life.

“For four months out of the year, it was super important to me to be a good coach and that took away from other hobbies to the point where it got too much,” Colglazier said. “I had to step away, because I was spending more time with other people’s kids than my own, and it was sad to have to leave.”

AP physics teacher Steve Ratto served as wrestling head coach from 2002 until 2015.

“I was always interested in helping,” Ratto said. “[During] my first year as a teacher, [the wrestling team] didn’t have a coach, so people got in contact with me and asked me if I could coach wrestling so that they could have a season.”

However, similar to Colglazier, Ratto also gave up coaching due to the struggle of juggling coaching with other aspects in his life.

“There were many times where I missed things because of all the tournaments and the practices,” Ratto said. “Eventually, I had to make the choice of making [the team] more of a priority … more than before.”

Biology and anatomy and physiology teacher Samantha Belvini is currently an assistant coach for the track and field team, primarily helping with long jump and triple jump. Belvini always had interest in coaching sports because of her athletic background.

“I did track and field in middle school and high school and in college,” Belvini said. “I always really wanted to coach, [and] I saw that opportunity.”

Since teachers involved in athletics are on campus, there’s a huge contrast between them and coaches who are off campus. Teachers are often able to  interact with their students and athletes.

“Being able to interact with students in a way outside of academics is a different vibe,” Belvini said. “They listen … because it’s a different world, and then I also get to meet more Aragon students which is always nice.”

As the former head coach of the wrestling team, Ratto treasured his ability to watch his wrestlers grow from timid freshmen to experienced seniors, having guided them throughout their high school career.

“My favorite thing was connecting with the students, having something outside of the classroom to be able to communicate with them,” Ratto said. “Seeing the students and the wrestlers grow and watching their confidence and ability over that time period was just absolutely amazing.”

Colglazier enjoyed the competitive aspect of coaching girls soccer, especially seasonal playoffs.

“It’s exciting to work so hard, and at the end of the year, you get to prove it,” Colglazier said. “All teams are all the same at the start of the game, so I liked that fairness in the challenge of it.”

Despite the challenges of juggling coaching and teaching, while doing both, teachers are able to form closer bonds with students. Although some have to give up the two jobs at once, the experiences and memories made lasted past the seasons they were involved in.