IT WAS TIME
It was the one and only “out of body” experience that has occurred in my life. Summer 2005 took the Marine City high school basketball team to Hillsdale College. I had strung together 10 consecutive seasons of back-to-back varsity coaching assignments. The constant was varsity football offensive coordinator; the variable was the winter sport. Six seasons spent as a girls varsity volleyball coach followed by four seasons as boys varsity basketball coach. Success was achieved in each niche in the record books, but failure was creeping in on the toll it took to my health.
I sat on the bench the entire second half of the contest and did not say a word. My mind replayed the interaction with the team during the first half. I saw a coach screaming at his players who had paid hard-earned money to attend this camp. A coach screaming at a great group of young men who had set aside valuable time during their summer vacation. A coach who had completely lost touch with the big and most important picture of athletics, the process.
The team was informed at the end of that game that I had made a decision to step aside. “I don’t blame you fellas if your pissed. I don’t blame you if you hate my guts right now. With my young family something has to change so that I am not angry and fatigued all the time.” I called our JV coach on the ride home. “Joe, I am fried, I can’t do back-to-back anymore. You are the next varsity basketball coach.”
The idea for this blog came from a social media post asking my readers to suggest a topic. One suggestion came from a young teacher/coach who now teaches one room away from the classroom I spent 32 years in. Jeremy Kierszykowski is a 2008 graduate of MCHS and currently a science teacher and 3 sport coach in the MCHS/MCMS complex. “Time management as a coach, father, and husband. How did you use your time effectively,” was his suggestion to my post.
Coach Kurz was a tight end on our 2007 state championship team and coached with me toward the end of my career. He is a gifted coach with the patience of a saint. His communication skills are advanced and his “steady eddy” demeanor is a striking contrast to my style. He currently works as the JV football head coach, 8th grade basketball coach, and middle school track coach. More importantly he is the father of three beautiful children aged 7,3, and 9 months.
Incredibly supportive wives are something we share. Coach Kurz’s wife Lindsay is also a former student and stems from another great Marine City family. She also is a teacher working with CI students at one of our elementary schools. I have said for years that my wife is tougher than any athlete that I have coached and I suspect the same is true for Coach Kurz.
“Jeremy puts 100% into everything he does. But that means there’s not a lot left when he gets home and that can be super hard on us. I believe that it is the job of a partner to support each other’s ambitions,” was some of her input for the blog.
Watching both of these former students grow and evolve has been inspirational. It has also renewed my respect for my wife Kathy as she masterfully handled our twins during my coaching run. I coached multiple sports my entire teaching career so here is a short list of techniques and strategies I leaned on.
The first might be most controversial as I chose never to assign homework, and thus never took home papers to grade. My goal was to start class on the bell, keep a fast paced classroom and end with 5-10 minutes before the bell. I have a million reasons why this worked for me, with number one being minimal behavior problems tagged with maximum student participation.
Second, I worked really hard to be present where my feet rested. My best effort was dedicated to the exact time and moment where I stood. I think my wife can honestly attest to very few nights where I brought my work home. Interacting with my young children when I came home after a long day was good therapy for me.
Third, whether it was in teaching or coaching, notes were constantly taken on successful methods or drills. Year by year planning became easier and more efficient and this freed up time to research new approaches.
Fourth, I tried my best to maximize the time the kids were asleep. This is when I would watch game film, call other coaches, check the internet for the most current drills or scout film.
Fifth, I was blessed my whole career with administrators that did not micro manage. I can honestly say I only wrote a handful of lesson plans in 32 years. My goal was 3 different activities per teaching hour, working off the philosophy that a students age (equals) their attention span. I can’t tell you how many times I heard students say, “Mr. Glodich your class always seem to fly by!”
Finally, the longer I coached the more I realized how important a date night was for our marriage and mental health. Every Saturday night was date night, win or lose on Friday. I was blessed with very supportive parents and also could hand pick the best of the best students to babysit.
With today’s changing landscape in education, I believe those teachers that are willing to take on extracurricular activities are now the new ROCK STARS in the building. If you are lucky, administrators will recognize this and help you with class load and demands. I would love to see a teaching salary schedule that takes into consideration time spent with other parents kids. One that rewards these dedicated educators that sacrifice their family time for the good of a noble cause. IT IS TIME!