Our inspired coaches know that playing sports confers benefits well beyond those of fitness and competitiveness. They have a wide range of personal athletic experiences, from childhood to college to the professional level. Meet our dedicated coaches.
Coaching Philosophy: “Participating in sports and playing on teams has helped shape where I am in life. The experience of working together as a team, understanding roles, the importance of hard work, and supporting teammates are all useful life lessons. Sports can be humbling, and it teaches us time and time again that there is no substitute for hard work and preparation. Students face obstacles that challenge them along the way—whether they play sports or not. How they handle these moments is when they grow.”
Coaching Philosophy: “I learned from playing that competition can be inspiring. It helped me to develop a philosophy about being super passionate and performing at my highest level and being happy with that level of achievement. Success didn’t have to mean making the NBA. Playing sports pushes young people to ask themselves: Can I give back to others? How will I chase my dreams? What am I best suited to do in life?”
Coaching Philosophy: “Athletics has shaped me physically, mentally, and socially. It has also helped me build character. Sports teaches great qualities such as leadership, optimism, perseverance, respect, and confidence. I want my students to enjoy being engaged in physical activity and to see that there are plenty of activities that allow you to just get out here and try something new and see what transpires. I think it’s great for young people to jump right into being active—physical activity creates a better mindset and can lead to greater happiness. Building a love of physical activity helps everything else fall into place.”
Coaching Philosophy: “Athletics have always been about more than just winning and losing to me. Through my track and field career, I was able to learn a lot about myself that continues to help me grow off the track. As an individual sport, I learned the importance of setting goals so that I always had something to keep me motivated. By setting difficult but achievable goals, I had to push myself past the point of being comfortable. The challenges I set for myself taught me to always keep a positive mindset and believe you are good enough to do it. I created a mantra during college that I would repeat out loud to myself during my warm-ups, and that’s when I really saw an improvement in my performances. Track is considered to be 90% mental, 10% physical, so I realized how critical self-confidence and a positive mindset is for success.”
Coaching Philosophy: “Athletics were hugely formative in my childhood, leading to lifelong friends and physical fitness habits I’ll have for life. The lessons, and friendships have stuck with me to this day. I’ve been able to call upon leadership skills and perseverance I learned in sports to do my job to the best of my ability, especially in challenging times. My years of competition as an athlete are personally rewarding, but now it’s clear that they set me up to be a positive influence for the student-athlete at WES. Being able to convey lessons of hard work and resilience, both on and off the court, is something that I’m really looking forward to while coaching and teaching at WES.”
Coaching Philosophy: “Athletics teaches life skills. No matter what situation I find myself in with my students or soccer players—from coaching a soccer games, leading practice, hiking in Bryce Canyon, or completing a science project—I always find myself teaching the skills I learned as an athlete, both subconsciously or intentionally. Team work, collaboration, resilience, effort, respect, sportsmanship, doing you best, and never giving up help our young people in all kinds of domains and situations.”
Coaching Philosophy: “Growing up, athletics were the foundation upon which a lot of my life, including friendships, were built. Because I am perhaps the only coach at WES who does not also teach students, being able to leverage my previous experiences into coaching cross country and track & field has been wonderful. I draw heavily from my own high school workouts when developing practices at WES. I cherish the times when a student finds out that they’ve found their new sport, carry that into high school, and later tell me that their practices at WES really prepared them for what they found in high school.”
Coaching Philosophy: “One of my favorite activities as a teacher has been coaching soccer and basketball, which I have done every year of my career. Although I never played organized soccer, I am an avid fan and count myself a dedicated students of the game. Coaching allows me to work with students outside of academia in an environment where ‘sitting still’ is the lowest of priorities. I regard helping kids find their comfort spot in a team enterprise as one of the most important contributions I can make as a middle school teacher.”
Coaching Philosophy: “The major lessons I learned being a Division 1 athlete were time management, humility, and empathy. I had to develop discipline both on and off the field. And I found myself humbled—you might be the fastest, best player in high school but it’s a different situation at the college level. I learned to have empathy as I was exposed to people from all walks of life. Athletics also taught me to come out of my shell! Playing on a team teaches out students to work through challenges and feel that accomplishment as a team beats anything! Every player can be a leader in their own way and find their own strength. Through sports, students can learn to have a positive outlook—that you can achieve anything together, as a team.”
Coaching Philosophy: “Athletics is an essential part of my life. I really enjoy showing my students how exciting it is to play a sport. As a Spanish teacher, I teach my students that soccer, for instance, is more than just a common interest, it is a component of Latin American culture. When you are learning a foreign language, it is very important to understand the culture, and athletics is part of that learning.”
