One of the most important things a student needs to succeed in the classroom is a good relationship with their teacher. One of the most important things an athlete needs to succeed on the field is a good relationship with their coach. While these relationships work great individually, how well do they work when blended together?
Anna Dean (12) is one of the co-captains of the Dance Team. Not only is she coached by Madame Christopoulos, but she is also her French student.
“When you have a teacher who is also your coach, you definitely get to know them on a more personal level,” Dean said. “I feel like I can talk to Madame Christopoulos not just about dance, but also about all my French work, and it definitely creates an atmosphere in the classroom where I feel like I can talk to her about anything.”
This scheduling situation gives students the opportunity to build closer relationships with their coaches, not just through athletics, but also through academics. Dean shines inside the classroom and in the studio due to the determination instilled in her by the people around her, one of these being her coach.
“I work really hard to make her proud of me, both in the classroom and on the dance team, and I think that having her as my teacher has pushed me even harder to be the best dancer I can on the school dance team, so that I can make her proud as my teacher and coach.” Dean said
The relationship built between coaches and athletes can be more influential due to the more personal level it brings caused by two people’s shared love for their sport. This relationship doesn’t just stay on the field, it also transfers to the classroom. Ahmad Elrashid (10) had Elise Millard as his art teacher and his freshman soccer coach during the fall of last year.
“I think having her as a coach helped me in the classroom a lot,” Elrashid said. “She could see my strengths and weaknesses and understand more about how I work in the classroom based on our relationship on the field.”
While having your coach as a teacher can foster a great environment inside the classroom, it doesn’t always foster a great environment outside. Nina Sundermann (10), a backstroker and sprinter on the girls swim team, has Madelyn Zink as her swim coach and also her geometry teacher.
“I think Ms. Zink gets really annoyed with me at practice because we spend so much time together,” Sundermann said.“Some days we spend up to five hours a day with each other because we have morning and afternoon practice and I also have her as a math teacher. I like spending time with her, but sometimes I feel that it gets to be too much.”
The average student athlete sees their teacher one hour a day for 9 months, and their coach once or twice a day for the duration of their sports season. This is not the case for student athletes with their coach as their teacher.
Amear Ahmed (10) is a sprinter on the boy’s swim team. He sheds light to both the positive and negative sides of the relationship he has built with Zink after having her as a math teacher his freshman year.
“There’d be some days where I just didn’t want to see her and when I didn’t go to her class because I already had morning practice, and then I had practice after school too,” Ahmed said. “Now that I don’t have her class and she’s only my coach I feel like we’ve been able to bond. Because I’ve been able to get closer with her throughout the past year, I feel like it has made me more excited for the swim season this year compared to how I felt last year.”
