From creating lesson plans to grading exams, teachers are no strangers to juggling commitments. For some teachers, this skill was developed during their own years in high school as they balanced varsity sports with academics.
Math teacher and volleyball coach Eric Graham has been playing volleyball since he was seven years old. However, being an athlete at Hemet High came with its challenges. As a student on both school and club volleyball teams, Graham worked out a schedule that productively utilized the time between practices and classes.
“My club was an hour away, so on the drive there I would do my homework,” Graham said. “If I had practice right after school I would go, then shower and eat and then just get to it. I was a fairly motivated student, so it worked.”
Graham said the challenge of having to balance multiple commitments is still with him as he coaches volleyball at Portola High.
“Finding that balance between being a coach and a teacher is something we try to model for our students,” Graham said. “We talk a lot about giving your all in everything that you do when you are here for the two hours for volleyball.”
Science teacher Andrew Kranz began playing varsity water polo in his freshman year at Northwood High to further his childhood passion for swimming.
Having played several sports, including baseball, soccer and swimming, Kranz had to make the ultimate decision of choosing which sport to focus on during high school. After joining varsity water polo, one of the biggest challenges was how much time he had to commit to the sport.
“I learned time management for sure,” Kranz said. “Being able to balance things and trying to make time for what’s important [and] also knowing and realizing you have to make sacrifices if you want to do something.”
Math teacher and track and field coach Nicole Larson has been an athlete from age five but ultimately decided to pursue track and field where she was a four-year varsity athlete at Upland High.
Spending hours at practices every day, Larson quickly formed a close bond with the boys’ team coach, Coach Wilson, whose dedication to supporting every athlete left a lasting impression on her.
“I think the girls’ coach was very focused on just a couple of athletes, and I actually was one of them, but I didn’t like the special treatment that specific athletes got,” Larson said. “The boys coach was really tough but in a good way, very supportive. I took a lot more from that relationship than I did with my own coach.”
Larson carries this sentiment to her coaching style on Portola High’s track and field team, where she strives to give every athlete personalized support and encouragement while maintaining strict expectations for their performance.
“I want to make sure that every athlete feels valued, and not just the ones who score points, because it goes a long way in developing a really good team culture,” Larson said.
