Coaching has has a great impactful towards my teaching career as it is where I learned I wanted to become a teacher. I began coaching volleyball at my old high school, Westsyde Secondary, the year I graduated in 2016. I started assistant coaching the junior girls volleyball team and learned many important qualities towards becoming an educator. Each player responded to my advice, criticism, and positive reinforcement differently therefore I needed to adhere to their needs to give them the best chance at growing in the sport. I was lucky enough to coach the team all the way to the Provincials, in which we placed 16th for the province. I was able to continue coaching from 2016-2019 being involved with many teams including grade 6/7 volleyball, grade 8 volleyball and junior volleyball.

The Westsyde Junior Girls volleyball team at Provincials in Abbotsford.
November 2016

I wanted to talk about coaching more than once because I truly feel like I found my passion for teaching when I began coaching. I love coaching because it is similar to teaching but in a very different setting. I was able to practice my behavioral management strategies, a clear, loud voice and adjusting my teaching styles to their learning styles. Coaching gave me the opportunity to work in a school with students directly. I am very thankful I was able to coach for 4 years before I began the teaching program because it gave me confidence in my abilities.