Coaches are jugglers, keeping track of both work and sports in one day. During their sport’s season, many coaches regularly work 12 or more hours a day.  Coaches who teach must keep up with both their school work and their sport, much like any student-athlete. There is a lot of planning ahead, preparation, little free time, late school nights and early mornings.

The boys varsity tennis head coach, Nick Pero, is a math teacher at the high school.  His day starts at 8 a.m. and lasts until 6 p.m. on practice days and for home games.  On away game days or more competitive home games, his day usually goes until 7 p.m. When he is not coaching, he leaves school between 3 – 4 p.m.  This year will be his fifth year coaching tennis at the high school.

“It’s probably pretty similar to students who play a sport, and that you have to think ahead and plan ahead and use free time accordingly,” Pero said.  “Weekends are important to get caught up on the week that’s coming.”

According to Pero, being a coach requires a lot of preparation.

“I’m always planned for about one to two weeks in advance in terms of lesson plans, social life, how I want practices to run, where our matches are versus if they’re home or away, if I can do some stuff on the bus,” Pero said.

For some sports, practices are on campus, however other sports’ practices are held miles away.

Kyle Beaulieu-Jones is the boys varsity soccer coach in the afternoon and a history teacher in the ExCEL program during the day.  He has found it to be a challenge to finish working at the same time the high school does and getting over to Skyline Park, where the soccer team practices.

“The big challenge is that I leave right away after school.  It is tough to leave right away because I have to then come in early the next morning to make sure that everything is ready for that day,” Beaulieu-Jones said.

Beaulieu-Jones said it is hard to fit in time with students during the day since his afternoons are rushed.

“I have to find time throughout the day to meet with students and work with them so that way I can still leave at the end of the day to go coach,” Beaulieu-Jones said.  “It’s using any downtime that you have, your free blocks, your lunch, X block, whatever time, very wisely and trying to really manage your time throughout the day so that way you can do both well.”

Beaulieu-Jones finds it helpful to come early in the morning and get a lot of work done at home.

Mary Minott is the assistant coach for girls junior varsity tennis and a social worker.  She also teaches the peer leadership program that meets Z block starting at 7:30 a.m. She aims to get to the high school around 7 a.m. to do some preparing, look over her plans and review for the class.

“I’m a morning person.  I get up at ten of six every day,” Minott said.  “And I go to bed really early.”

During the day, some of the things Minott does are assist peer leaders with projects and attend meetings to plan events.  By the end of the day, she is ready to go outside and play tennis, a sport she finds therapeutic.

“It fits in great because I get here so early and then by 3:30 I am ready to be outdoors,” Minott said. “I cannot sit indoors all day long. I get restless.”