It was about six years ago, and the boys freshman soccer team was facing off against Weymouth and losing 3-1. The chances of turning this match into a win for Brookline were slim.

Thanks to a quick and dramatic adjustment to its formation by the coach, the team was able to make a comeback and win 5-3.

Weymouth parents soon started approaching the coach and praising him. The coach that succeeded in pulling off this feat was none other than science teacher Aubrey Love.

Love has been teaching for 12 years, nine at the high school.

He has coached for the school since 2003, spending three years as assistant coach for the girls varsity soccer and lacrosse teams. He must balance teaching and coaching in his everyday life.

“I might get pretty intense as a coach, so I keep reminding myself from my teaching that I have to slow down and realize that my players are learning and that this is a learning experience,” said Love. “That’s what you get from teaching, that you have to take it slow and that you really have to focus on the baby steps of improvement.”

Senior Megan Zak, a captain of the girls varsity lacrosse team, has been able to learn a lot from Love during practices.

“During lacrosse, he taught me how to stay focused, to not let letting in a goal or missing a play affect how I play the rest of the game,” said Zak.

Love tries to hold kids more accountable for their actions while coaching because the people who are on the team are there because they want to be. It is easier for them to have a fun time, and because of this, he seeks to bring the fun students have on the field into the classroom.

“One innovative thing he did this year was that he incorporated the whole Spark book that freshmen have been reading in health and fitness into an activity where the students were reviewing for a test and they had to run around the room in order to do it,” said Science Curriculum Coordinator Ed Wiser.

Even though he loves teaching, there are some aspects of coaching he finds more satisfying.

“Sometimes if I teach something in the classroom, a kid will improve,” said Love. “But it’s hard to see that improvement because it might be something in how they do their problem. I don’t get to sit there and watch them do their problem.”

According to Love, getting students to buy in to the subject is one of the most important aspects of teaching, which allows them to enjoy class more.

“What I mean by ‘buy in’ is the sense that they would do the work for it. They want to work to do well,” said Love.

He does this by giving his students context as to why they are learning what they learn, often by telling stories in class. The stories allow students to relate what they learn to the real world and see him as a real person, says Love.

Similar to how he wants students to buy in to his subject, Love hopes the most important thing players learn from him is to love the sport that they are playing.

“Players get so stressed that they forget they’re there because they love the sport,” said Love. “If they can walk away from me at any moment in time and onto the field and remember they’re supposed to love what they’re doing, that’s the whole point of it.”

Jennifer Sun can be contacted at bhs.[email protected]