Jim Rife

EDUC 204

Professor Evin Fox

April 18, 2019

This I Believe

I believe that some of the most influential people in the lives of an adolescent are coaches

and teachers of an extra-curricular activity. Not all students have a thirst for school, but usually

any that participate in extra-curricular activities are doing so out of a passion for that activity.

Therefore, the coach or teacher who helped develop that interest can play a valuable role in the

development of the student.

This is a topic that I have a deep interest in discussing. I have been a coach at a local

high school for the past ten years, so I know that my opinion may come off as a little bias.

However, as a student during my high school years, I did have many teachers that were a

positive influence on me in the class room. The one who was the most influential and

demanding of me was my high school football coach. His overall unselfishness towards helping

me develop the work ethic and drive that still serves me to this day is the main reason that after

twenty-five years away from school, I have decided to finish my degree. This will help me to

pass that knowledge onto the next generation.

During my time coaching, I have seen the impact that a teacher or coach can have on an

individual. Whether it is pushing an athlete or student to do their very best, or simply taking the

time to listen to a student that just needs some one to listen to them. A lot of the time, a student
just needs to have that one person who believes in them no matter what. This is where my coach

had the greatest impact on me. Growing up I was never the best student, the best athlete, or the

most popular. But Coach always saw that I always had the drive to try to improve at whatever I

was trying to accomplish. His guidance is the main reason that I not only graduated in the top

ten percent of my class but, I also received a college scholarship to play football. Without him

pushing me, I can’t say that would have happened.

In the school that I coach for I have witnessed just how much a student can depend on the

advice of a teacher. While the teacher is considered their role model, they are more often than

not also considered as a student’s confidant. This is even more so with a coach. While a teacher

of adolescence tends to spend one hour a day with a group of students, a coach will spend

multiple hours daily with these young people. Either through practice or games, an athlete spends

the largest portion of their day around their coach. Seeing this first hand, I can tell you that a

coach has a great deal of influence on that young person day in and day out. I believe that the

greatest influencers of young people today are the teacher and coaches that strive to get the very

best out of our students everyday.