Hundreds of teacher-coaches continue work long after school closes

It’s a typical day at a typical junior high school in Manitoba. Two teachers have spent an hour and a half before classes conducting boys’ basketball practices.  At noon, the track coach begins preparing for the season. Later that night, the girls’ coaches will be in the gym with their teams while just outside another coach conducts a wrestling clinic.

Every year hundreds of teachers and education assistants put in thousands of extra hours teaching kids to run, jump and shoot.

Ask why they do it and one will hear a common theme.

It’s a way to have fun, to bond with students outside the classroom and have the opportunity to give students the tools they need to become better athletes and people.

A few years ago, Lockport School teacher Yvonne Inniss was reminded of how those goals come together.

The Grade 9 English language arts and social studies teacher was at a tournament with her Grade 7 girls’ basketball team and things weren’t going too well.

“We were just getting stomped. It was terrible,” Inniss said. “I was already in my head starting to figure out what am I going to say to the girls after, how am I going to build them up so we can come back the next day and we won’t be too depressed about all of this?
           
“I’m looking at the score and I look on the bench and they’re singing and they’re figuring out where we’re going to go eat after the game.

“And I thought, OK, clearly I don’t need to be worrying quite as much about that. It’s not as serious a thing necessarily for them. It really put it in perspective for me, because it’s all about playing, having fun and being together.”

A teacher for 20 years, Inniss has been at Lockport for 19 years and has coached basketball, volleyball and indoor and outdoor track.

This year, she and teacher Kim Boughton shared the coaching duties for the Grade 7 girls’ basketball team to give themselves more time for classroom work.

The team has two practices a week, each for about one and half to two hours, plus games and tournaments.

Those volunteer hours can add up, but the rewards make up for it.

“Simply, it’s fun,” Inniss said. “When the work outweighs the fun, then I’ll stop coaching, but right now there’s way too much fun you get in the interaction with the kids.

“You see them in a completely different light and it’s just great to see them grow as players, and then over three years you just see them grow as people.”

Garden City Collegiate physical education teacher Missy Penner has coached volleyball, cross-country, field hockey, badminton and indoor and outdoor track during her 21 years at the school.

“Getting an opportunity to work with kids is giving back,” said Penner, who’s coaching badminton this year. “I was fortunate to have great experiences all through my school life. I had some really good role models.

“When you’ve had those positive experiences, you develop a passion for athletics and you want to give back to kids and give them the same opportunities and watch them grow and improve.”

Westwood Collegiate math teacher Dorian Miller has coaching to thank for getting his job.

A former University of Manitoba hockey player from 1996-98, Miller was substitute teaching at Westwood when he was approached about a job opening for a math teacher.

“I kind of got hired with that expectation for me to pick up the hockey program,” said Miller, who’s in his fifth year teaching and coaching. “They didn’t have an on-staff member looking after it, it was just volunteer people from outside.

“It was perfect for me and for them. I just love hockey. (After playing in university), I thought I’d get back into it somehow so coaching was perfect. I enjoy being with the kids, and to be able to see them at school and look after them, it’s a neat gig.”

Miller guided his squad to the provincial championships the past two years, losing 4-3 in overtime to Oak Park in this season’s semifinals. The defending champion St. Paul’s squad won the title over Oak Park.

Miller, Penner and Inniss said they spend so much time with students that close relationships develop and they feel a responsibility to be good role models on and off the court, ice or field.

Coaches have to represent fair play, including “biting your tongue when you’ve got something to suggest to the ref,” Inniss said.

“They have to see that,” she said. “And also as a female coach, I think it’s important that they see women in those roles.”

Miller even keeps an eye on his players’ diets, which can sometimes consist of a Slurpee and a cookie after a workout.

“I like to watch out for them and make sure they’re eating healthy and looking after themselves,” he said, adding steroids aren’t an issue, but he does monitor the supplements they might use such as creatine and whey protein.

“I take it upon myself to build character in many ways, not just with the game, but with school and studying and how they treat everybody and sportsmanship. Basically, I’m like a second parent to them, which is enjoyable to me.”

The close relationships can also help students benefit academically.

“If you know that a student is struggling in your class, you have a relationship already in place from coaching and you can approach them to find out what’s going on and maybe help them academically, as well,” Inniss said.

A good athletic experience can also motivate a student to stay in school because they enjoy playing sports and want to continue, Penner said, adding in the past she’s checked on some of her players’ schoolwork to make sure they’re attending classes and trying to do their best.

Teachers at Westwood will sometimes approach coaches in the school to talk about students who aren’t doing well in class, Miller said. He’s even suspended a few players for a day or two until they handed in an assignment or changed their behavior.

“It’s a good way for (teachers) to change kids’ behavior by coming to us,” he said.

Coaches can also impact students’ lives outside of school. Students may feel more comfortable talking with a coach about a problem rather than another teacher because they spend that extra time together.

“Sometimes in the classroom there’s the teacher/student kind of setup and it’s a little more relaxed when you’re in a coaching environment,” Inniss said.

Miller recalled how hockey helped one of his students overcome some personal difficulties and it felt good to be a part of that.

“He attended the classes that he had to – they were ready to kick him out – and he graduated,” Miller said. “He kind of thanked me as a key contributor to getting him to come to school and to play hockey.”

Long-lasting bonds can also form with students and their coaches.

“There’s a group of us that will occasionally get together just for a brunch or something like that,” said Penner, adding she’s even been in a former student’s wedding party.

“Some are teaching now so it’s kind of interesting that a lot went into teaching and phys-ed.”

Even though the extra hours coaching can take a toll, they’re not about to hang up their whistles.

“When I get home at 6:30 or six o’ clock at night, I’m tired and you just want to see your family,” said Miller, a father of a year-and-a-half-old son. ”But the whole reason I keep doing it is ‘cause when I’m there I really have a good time and I enjoy being with the kids. Until I don’t like being at the rink, that’s when I’d pack it in.”