Andover, for as long as it has had an athletic program, has implemented the “triple threat” faculty system of teacher-house counselor-coach. Andover is an academic institution and thus should place more emphasis on perfecting the academic aspect of the triple threat. With that said, how much value should be put on coaching? More importantly, how much value is put on coaching? In hiring faculty, does the administration take into account where the prospective teachers fit into the athletic program? Just like the administrators know where the teacher will teach, do they hire teachers with their coaching expertise, or lack thereof in some cases, in mind? In answering this question, Dean of Faculty Temba Maqubela said that he tries to “find the best person for the job who is qualified as a teacher, then develop him or her into an expert in whatever field, not necessarily athletics, the candidate lacks.” With respect to athletics, prior coaching experience is not that important because Mr. Maqubela asserts that Andover has “experts here that can develop teachers into good coaches if they are not already.” He points to Chris Gurry’s mentoring of Matt Hession, both Instructors in History and hockey coaches. Mr. Maqubela went on to say, “Teachers are only hired if they are willing to coach.” When prospective teachers interview at Andover, they meet with the Athletic Director as well as the Dean of Faculty and Department Head. In their meeting with the Athletic Director, they discuss their athletic resume and where they would fit into the Andover athletic program. Teachers are always willing to coach when they first arrive to Andover, but the key is to keep young teachers in coaching. Coach Leon Modeste, Head Coach of Varsity Football and Boys Varsity Basketball, said, “It is important to have young teachers stay coaching for a long time because the reality is that every teacher comes here ready to coach but some lose their will and find ways to get out of it. Getting done with your day at 3 p.m. is a pretty attractive idea, especially for someone who is young and single. Teachers have much more of a life outside of teaching if they don’t coach.” Coach Modeste loves to coach and thus will always coach. But he admits that there are competent teacher-coaches who do not love coaching enough to want to continue doing it. Coach Modeste said, “Maybe throwing in a few extra benefits for coaching would be an incentive for more teachers to stay in coaching.” Tom McGraw, Varsity Baseball Coach (as well as former coach to other varsity sports), agrees saying, “I love to coach because I love sports and love being around the kids in an atmosphere outside the classroom. But I do admit that coaching puts a lot of wear and tear on your body, and, as I have gotten older, it’s harder for me to get as excited about coaching. Benefits for coaching would definitely help because some people don’t want to experience that wear and tear and others want a little extra for enduring that wear and tear.” Hiring full-time coaches would easily solve the problem of teachers not wanting to coach. But as helpful as full-time coaches would be to the athletic program, their presence would open a Pandora’s box of other problems. Coach Modeste says that “Once you start hiring full time coaches who aren’t involved with the academic side of the school, there becomes an us-versus-them feeling between academics and athletics. My alma mater in New York City, Poly Prep, has an athletic department totally separate from the school and it has become a renegade program with no respect for the academic aspect of its student-athletes’ lives.” Coach Modeste opposes full time coaches for another reason saying, “Full-time coaches don’t understand the academic rhythms of the school and don’t know when to push their players and when to lay off.” He says, “Andover is so hard academically, sometimes kids need a break. Coaches involved in the academic aspect of the school understand that.” The final issue with the triple threat system is its ability to develop athletes and help kids progress athletically as much as they can. Can teachers with no prior experience in coaching be good enough coaches to develop students into high-caliber athletes? Should teachers coach a sport in which they have little or no experience in? Can they teach their players effectively? Mr. McGraw, who played basketball at Notre Dame then professionally in England, said, “Nowadays, a good coach can be the ticket to a good college for a high level athlete. I have coached with guys that were high-level athletes themselves and they were deeply committed to coaching as well as being great teachers. The key is for the administrators to go out and find those people.” Coach Modeste echoes that statement saying, “The administration has to make a conscientious effort to find people who will come to the school qualified in both coaching and teaching because they are out there. We are a high school; we don’t need to have a person with a Ph. D and who’s written five books teaching every subject. Nor do we need hot shot coaches who are only focused on winning championships. There has to be a balance.” The administration admits that it will hire teachers and tell them to coach sports where they have no playing or coaching experience. What it must avoid is falling into the trap of hiring inexperienced coaches and depending on the school’s ability to develop teachers into being competent coaches. As Coach Modeste said, a prospective teacher’s ability, and not just willingness, to coach must be an important part of the hiring process. Every student deserves a competent coach and the opportunity to develop as an athlete, just as they have the opportunity to develop as a student.
