Tag Archives: Athletic Coaches

Matilda Mossman: The health and PE teacher who became an award-winning basketball coach

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Former high school health and physical education teacher Matilda Mossman became an award-winning university basketball coach prior to her retirement in 2021. Photo credit: Tulsa University

Many outstanding college coaches launched their careers as physical education teachers in one of America’s public schools. One of these is Matilda Mossman, an award-winning high school basketball coach who also served as the former Head Basketball Coach for the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Matilda was born on Aug. 7, 1956 in Campbellsville, Kentucky. After her graduation from high school, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical education in 1970 and her Master’s degree in Education in 1980, both from Western Kentucky.located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

After earning her degrees, Matilda launched her career as a health and physical education teacher at Normal Community High School in Normal, Illinois. She also served as the girls basketball coach there. She worked at the school from 1994 to 2001.

The next year, Matilda relocated to Norman Oklahoma, where she served as the assistant girls basketball coach at Norman North High School. That year, her team completed the season with a 22-4 record and advanced to the Class 6A state semi-finals.

The next year, Matilda was named the Head Basketball Coach at Norman High. She served in that role from 2002 to 2011. During those years, her teams logged an overall record of 191-53 for a winning percentage of nearly 80%. During her tenure, Matilda’s teams qualified for the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association (OSSAA) Class 6A State Tournament in the last eight of her nine seasons, and they won eight straight regional championships. In fact, Matilda led Norman High to the state title in 2005, and runner-up in 2010.  For her efforts, she was named the Conference Coach of the Year three times, while earning Regional and District Coach of the Year honors twice.

In 2011, Matilda was appointed Head Basketball Coach at the University of Tulsa, where she served ten seasons. She took over a five-win team and in just her second year won a conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She retired from coaching in 2021.

“My entire life has evolved around being a basketball coach. And I have had the time of my life!” Matilda declared at the time of her retirement. “Mark Twain once said, ‘Find a job you enjoy doing and you will never work a day in your life.’ That is certainly what I have done,” she concluded.

Remembering Chalkboard Hero Michael Landsberry

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Michael Landsberry

Junior high school mathematics teacher and veteran Michael Landsberry sacrificed his life to save as many as 30 students from a teen gunman. Photo credit: Public Domain

Sometimes it is sobering to remember what a heavy responsibility we teachers have when it comes to protecting our students from harm. And there are many examples of heroic educators who have paid the ultimate price to protect their kids. One such hero is Michael Landsberry, a junior high school math teacher from Reno, Nevada.

Following his graduation from high school in 1986, Michael served in the United States Marine Corps where he had risen to the rank of corporal. He served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and later became a member of the Nevada Air National Guard.

After his discharge, Michael attended college at Nevada State University, Reno, on the GI Bill. There he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 2001. Following his college graduation, Michael accepted a teaching position at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, a suburb of Reno, Nevada. In addition to being a math teacher, he also coached basketball, cross country, track, and volleyball, and he served as the girls soccer coach at Sparks High School. Michael quickly became a beloved teacher known for pushing his students, but doing it with love and compassion.

On October 22, 2013, Michael was getting ready for the morning bell, when a 12-year-old student suddenly opened fire on his classmates. After the first student was shot, the chalkboard champion’s military training in kicked in. He calmly walked toward the shooter, putting his hands up in a motion to try to talk the youngster into giving up his gun. The student shot him in the chest at point blank range. Michael later succumbed to his injuries, but his heroic actions gave the other students on the playground time to run to safety. He is credited with saving as many as 30 lives that day.

For his heroism, Michael’s name has been inscribed on the Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas.

PE teacher and coach Mamie Redman once played women’s pro baseball

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Magdalen “Mamie” Redman, who played for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, taught mathematics and physical education and coached a variety of sports after retiring from the League. Photo Credit: All American Girls Professional Baseball League

Many times excellent physical education educators were established athletes in their own right. One of these was Magdalen “Mamie” Redman, a math and PE teacher and coach who also played in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) during World War II.

Mamie was born on July 2, 1980, in Waupin, Wisconsin. When she was young, girls were not allowed to participate in Little League Baseball, so Mamie was confined to playing sandlot ball with her neighborhood friends. By the time she was 17, though, she was able to join an organized softball team in Oconomowoc, about 17 miles away from her home town. It was while she was playing there that her talent was spotted by an AAGPBL scout.

After signing with the AAGPBL, Mamie travelled to Opa-locka, Florida, for spring training in 1948, and then she was assigned to the Kenosha Comets. At 5’5″, 150 lbs., Mamie served as the team’s catcher and third baseman. She played for the Comets from 1948 to 1950, and then transferred to the Grand Rapids Chicks, where she played from 1950 to 1954. While playing there, she helped her team win the Championship Series in 1953. In all, Mamie played seven years in the AAGBL. Once the League was disbanded in 1955, Mamie was recruited to play for a national touring team known as the All American All Stars, a team comprised of women players who toured the country competing against male teams.

After she retired from baseball, Mamie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, with minors in Physical Education and Biology, from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. For the next 37 years, she taught mathematics and physical education and coached a variety of high school sports at Valdez, Mukwonago, and Oconomowoc High Schools.

To commemorate her impressive career as an athlete, Mamie’s story became part of the Women in Baseball exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. She was also inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame, the Wall of Honor at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and the Waupun High School Hall of Fame. In addition, the 1992 film A League of Their Own shared the story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League to generations of baseball fans.

In her final years, Mamie Redman lived in Oconomowoc. She passed away on Aug. 22, 2020, at the age of 90.

 

Texas educators Reece and Paula Zunker perish in July 4 floodwaters

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Tivy High School teacher and boys’ soccer coach Reece Zunker, his wife Paula, a former teacher, and their two children perished in the floodwaters that decimated a campground in Kerrville, Texas, in the early morning hours of July 4. Photo credit: Mail Online

We are greatly saddened to report that two educators perished in the floodwaters that decimated a campground in Kerrville, Texas, in the early morning hours of July 4. Reece Zunker and his wife Paula Zunker and their two children, Lyle and Holland, were lost in the catastrophe.

Reece taught and served as the Head Coach for the boys’ soccer team at Tivy High School in the Kerrville Independent School District. He has been described as “a passionate educator and a beloved soccer coach” by colleagues at the school. “His unwavering dedication to our students, athletes, and the Tivy community touched countless lives and will never be forgotten,” officials at the school posted online last Sunday. His career as an educator spanned 12 years.

Jonathan Ellington, who played for Zunker and graduated from Tivy High in 2019, remembered his former coach fondly. “Coach Zunker is the whole reason we excelled in soccer at Tivy in 2019,” Ellington recalled. “He taught us to work hard, to move as a team, and how to trust and rely on one another’s instincts in the beautiful game,” Ellington continued. “He was a father figure to us all and was an integral part of the culture at Kerrville Tivy,” Ellington concluded.

Reece was named the Tivy High School Teacher of the Year, and was also named the school district’s Secondary Teacher of the Year, says Kerrville Superintendent Dr. Brent Ringo. “He was so respected by our coaches and teachers, and beloved by our students,” Dr. Ringo recalled.

Reece’s wife, Paula, was a former teacher at Tiny High School. “The care and impact she shared with her students continue to be felt, even years later,” officials posted in their online post.

The family had been vacationing at a river house near Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp, when the disaster occurred. More than 120 people were swept away and killed in the flood, with at least 160 are still missing.

CA Head Football Coach Matt Logan named “winningest” coach in the Inland Empire

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My former co-worker, Head Football Coach Matt Logan of Centennial, California, has been named the “winningest” coach in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Photo credit: Blast Athletics

I always enjoy sharing the story of an exceptional athletic coach, especially if the coach is someone I know! This is the case with football coach Matt Logan of Centennial High School in Corona, California. Before I retired, Matt and I worked together at the school.

Matt graduated from nearby Norco High School in 1985. Ten years later, he was hired as the Defensive Coordinator at Centennial. Two years later, he advanced to Head Coach, where he built a powerhouse football program. In the 28 seasons that have transpired since Matt took the position, he has logged 28 seasons. During that time, he has become the “winningest” coach in Southern California’s Inland Empire, and will very likely be inducted into the Coaches’ Hall of Fame.

Over the years, Matt has led his student athletes to more than 300 victories, a total of ten CIF Southern Section titles, and one CIF State Championship (2018). And that’s not all. For the past 18 consecutive years, one of Matt’s quarterbacks has gone on to become a future college quarterback.

And I had a front row seat for the excitement, having taught at Centennial from the day the school opened in 1989 until I transferred to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Eastvale when that school opened in 2006.

So what is Matt’s secret to winning so many games? “The kids who come here know the expectations and obviously want to compete and that’s all we ask of them,” declared Matt. “Do the work, do what we ask, and we compete every week,” he continued. “I always say, ‘We may get beat, but we always compete.’ I don’t care how tall they are, how fast they are, how big they are. We just want good football players,” he concluded.