After 30 years, coach steps down ... to
teach
|
|
November 14, 2013 |
 |
On November 11, Janis Tucker wrote on her
Facebook page, "Tonight was my last awards
presentation as a varsity coach ...
"Thanks go out to all that make home matches run
smoothly ... scorekeeper, clock person, and line
judges.
"Thanks to wonderful parents that give time,
money, and emotional support to their teenage
daughters as well as emotional support for me.
Thanks to two of the best assistants, Kendra and
Caroline, who continually ground me, but two
special friends that make me laugh!
"But the BIGGEST thanks goes out to my varsity
team that made it so easy to endure long bus
rides, crawl out of bed for early practices, and
spend countless hours in a gym for two-a-days,
late night matches and endless tournaments. A
mixture of sadness, joy, contentment, and no
regrets."
Many may be surprised to learn why, all except
those who know her best. They understand.
Janis is excited about new innovations in
teaching, excited to afford her students the
benefit and excited to help School District 101
educators bring the innovations into their
classrooms.
And it's not Common Core, though those new
standards fit in.
In 1976, Janice was a Badger volleyball player
taking part in Junior Miss. Not very long ago, a
friend showed her something she'd written back
then; and two things were expressed with near
certainty; she would never be a teacher and,
once she graduated, she would never again live
in Bonners Ferry.
Without her even realizing it, those certainties
dimmed during the four years after her 1977
graduation from Bonners Ferry High School, one
year at Spokane Falls Community College, the
next three at Idaho State ... where she studied
education.
And then, after matriculating, she came right
back to Bonners Ferry ... to teach.
"I have no regrets," she said, "but I guess you
should never say 'never.'"
While it's not officially "official," as she has
yet to write a letter to the school board, Janis
is retiring. From being head Badger volleyball
coach. After 30 years.
So she can focus more on teaching.
Thanks to another phenomenal teacher, Spence
Rogers, who will be in Bonners Ferry soon and
who is currently the equivalent of Cary Grant,
Ginger Rogers, Albert Einstein, John Wayne,
Bruce Lee, the Beatles, Bill Gates, Lady Gaga
and Eminem in the world of modern educators.
He has a way of reaching even the most
recalcitrant student and bringing out his and
her best, of getting them to learn to love
learning, and after a career in the classroom,
he is now "retired" and teaching teachers these
methods.
He has teachers world-wide immensely excited.
At Tuesday's school board meeting, Middle School
language arts teacher Kelly Hinthorn, one of a
handful of Boundary County teachers who've
attended Rogers' "Teaching for Excellence"
seminars and undergone training to teach the
methods and ideas to fellow teachers, waxed
eloquent, saying that she has never been so
excited to teach.
Another among that handful from here was Kelly's
former teacher and coach, Janis Tucker, who is
likewise enthused.
Believe it or not, when Janis isn't coaching and
taking abuse for that, she teaches classes full
time at the high school. She spends much of her
own time learning to be a better teacher, even
more teaching her fellow teachers to be better
teachers.
What time she has left she shares with her
family. It leaves very little for her.
She is certain that retiring as the head coach
of the Bonners Ferry volleyball team is the
right thing to do. She'll have some of her
summers back with her family, who have always
supported personal cost and the hours she's
spent at practice, at camp, away on games, in
the classroom, in training ... ad infinitum.
She'll have more time to dedicate to her
students and her school.
She admits that the reality of her decision
hasn't fully settled; and it's apparent that she
has yet to imagine a moment to herself.
She gets quiet, a wistful look in her eye that
comes to the brink of but not quite to a tear.
"I already worry about next August, when I
should be getting ready for the season," she
said. "No, no ... I'm doing the right thing."
Letting go, you can tell, isn't easy. In fact,
she isn't ruling out helping next year's Badger
volleyball teams, but not as head varsity coach.
She remembers both winning and losing at the
side of her many teams, no triumph more
rewarding than the early 1990s Badger win that
broke St. Maries' 117 game winning streak, the
first time the Lady Jacks had been beaten in
league in 12 years.
"That was better than winning state," she said,
which was a good thing; St. Maries won state
again that year, too.
Far more important, she said, than wins or
losses, has been the lasting relationships
developed with players over a long span of
years, of knowing that her efforts made a
positive difference in so many lives.
"Janis, you were such an inspiration to me as a
young athlete, and I have caught myself many
times sharing your coaching truths with my own
daughter, who is a high school volleyball player
now," said Badger Jenny Manus in response to the
Facebook post that led this article. It was one
of many.
"Janice, thank you for your countless hours
spent in the gym with all of us. I have a love
of the game and still continue to play (although
at a slower pace and without much jumping
ability) because of coaches like you that
challenged us to not only be better players but
better people," wrote Shelly (Swing) Polzin.
"Thank you for all the sacrifices you made for
us. It hasn't gone unnoticed. Congrats on this
new chapter in your life. I am forever grateful
for the time I spent with you as a player. Tom
Hilbert (CSU RAMS head coach) once told me
volleyball is the hardest sport to learn. You
made it easy for me and so many others. THANKS
COACH! Now go enjoy those grand babies!"
One thing Janice won't miss is the vilification
a community can subject a coach to.
"As much as parents mean well, I wish they'd see
the bigger picture," Janis said. "Win/loss is
important, sure, but there are more important
aspects. Records last a season; relationships
last a lifetime." |
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
