After school, most times a student can find their teachers grading papers or working in their classroom. However, for some teachers, the rest of their day after the last period bell rings is spent on the field, in the gym or around the track.

Many students find their outlet within sports, the way a few teachers do. Although balancing the schedules between academic activities and athletics may seem difficult, these teachers are driven to see their athletes succeed in the classroom and within their sport.

“The best thing about being teacher and a coach is that you have the ability to see them not just off the field but on the field. You gain more of an insight on their lives based on that,” freshman soccer coach Mr. Tamayo said. “The timing is difficult because you still have calls to make after school and you still have meetings, but the best way to juggle it all is to have your first priority education and your next priority be sports.”

A few teachers have the privilege of teaching some of their own players. To some it may seem like a nightmare to have their coach grade their papers; however, most students take the opportunity to strengthen their relationship with their coach and experience another side of their life.

“The ability to break the ice and get to know more kids gives you an extra incentive to go to work and be apart of kids’ lives,” Mr. Tamayo said. “It gives me another outlet.”

While it may seem unrelated, many skills overlap within teaching and coaching. These teachers take what they experience athletically and bring it into the classroom, hoping to teach useful life lessons and motivate their students.

“The quote I have hanging in my classroom is ‘when it rains, the ground gets wet.’ With basketball, if we work hard, good things can happen and we perform better in our games,” varsity basketball coach Mr. Ogden said. “We have learned a lot of life lessons this season. We’ve faced adversity and fought through it. Hopefully, they don’t leave with only remembering losing or winning games because there’s a bigger picture than that.”

In contrast to their teams, teachers often see a lack of motivation and fire in the classroom so they strive to instill a positive energy in their classroom to keep the class intriguing. This small act of energizing the classroom not only can help students receive better grades, but also cause the class to have a more positive outlook on education as a whole.

“Teaching is teaching, whether you’re teaching basketball or teaching math, I like to think that I am a teacher in the gymnasium,” Mr. Ogden said. “I try to make it fun in my classroom so that the students want to be there.”

Of course, the main goal of these adults is to equip their students and players with the tools to navigate through the next years of their life. They leave their jobs everyday hoping they have made a positive impact on the community and on the youth at Carlsbad High School. Although education is the first priority, teachers who take on the role of coaching do it also simply because they love it.

“You have to balance your time and it’s a way to reach out to students who are interested in different activities,” varsity football coach Mr. MacNeal said.  “Teaching is number one, but I’ve always have a competitive nature and that’s why I love coaching.”