Tag Archives: Athletic Coaches

Teacher, coach, football player, and WW II veteran Tony Zuzzio

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Teacher, coach, former professional football player, and World War II veteran Tony Zuzzio. Photo credit: Muhlenberg College

Many fine athletes devote their considerable talent as educators and coaches after they have concluded their professional careers. This is certainly true of Tony Zuzzio, a long-time teacher and coach who once played professional football for the Detroit Lions.

Anthony Joseph Zuzzio was born on August 5, 1916, in Irvington, Essex County, New Jersey. He grew up in nearby Belleville, where he attended Belleville High School. As a teenager, Tony excelled at multiple sports. For his achievements as an athlete, Tony was inducted into his high school Hall of Fame in 1977.

Following his high school graduation, Tony enrolled in Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he played the position of tackle on the football team. While there he was named an All-American. Following his college experience, Tony played professional football in the National Football League (NFL). The 5’11”, 215-pound youth played as both a guard and a tackle for the Detroit Lions during the 1942 season.

Tony was a true American hero. During World War II, the former football star served his country in the armed services, where he earned an American Theater Ribbon, a Good Conduct Medal, and a World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

After his military service, Tony coached baseball in Coffeyville in Kansas. There the consummate coach took his team to a national title. For the span of 34 years, Tony channeled his energy as a teacher and coach at nearby Edna High School in Kansas, then at Chetopa High School in Labette County, next at Elk City, Kansas, and finally at Humbolt High School in Humbolt, Kansas. In addition, from 1964 to 1966, Tony moonlighted as a professional scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On April 7, 2002, this Chalkboard Champion and American veteran passed away in Lawrence, Kansas. He was 85 years old. He is interred at Mount Olive Roman Catholic Cemetery in Parsons, Kansas.

MA science teacher Alexandria Sylvia earns MAST Award

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Chemistry teacher Alexandria Sylvia garnered a 2022 Dawn Sather Exemplary New Teacher Award from the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers. Photo Credit: Brockton Public Schools

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Alexandria Sylvia, a science teacher from Massachusetts who has garnered a 2022 Dawn Sather Exemplary New Teacher Award from MAST (Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers). The New Teacher Award is given each year to teachers who have demonstrated remarkable achievement, accomplishment, and promise as science educators.

Alexandria teaches Chemistry at Brockton High School in Brockton, Massachusetts. She has done this for the past four years. Over the past two years, Alex has served as a member of her school’s Science Department Steering Committee. In addition, she coaches the field hockey team. Alexandria also teaches Earth Science in the school district’s evening and summer school programs, and she serves as a support teacher in the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Biotech Apprenticeship Program.

The honored educator is obviously well-regarded by her colleagues. “Alex is a wonderfully positive person and her enthusiasm for teaching science is infectious,” declares Dr. David Mangus, Chair of the Brockton High School Science Department. “The energy she brings to the classroom and the student-centered activities she designs, draw students in and trigger their innate curiosity,” he says.

Alexandria teaches in the same high school she attended as a teenager. She graduated from Brockton High School in 2014. Prior to teaching at Brockton, she inaugurated her career as an educator at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

After graduating from high school, Alexandria completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at Stonehill College located in Easton, MA. While there, she worked as a research assistant. Her research focused on the M13mp bacteriophage vectors that infect E. coli cells. She also completed a one-week community service project sponsored by Stonehill College. She traveled to Tennessee with ten other people and worked to repair and repaint a woman’s home, improve landscaping, and worked in the food pantry at the volunteer house where they were staying.

Alexandria Sylvia: Truly an impressive young educator.

AAGPBL player Mamie Redman taught math and PE, and coached sports

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Magdalen 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.

 

CA PE teacher and baseball coach Tim Steele was once drafted by the Kansas City Royals

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California’s Tim Steele was once drafted by the Kansas City Royals. Instead, he chose to pursue a career as a physical education teacher and baseball coach. Photo Credit: Legacy.com

Often, individuals with superior athletic ability go on to become excellent athletic coaches. This is certainly true of James Timothy Steele—known to all as Tim—a baseball player who taught physical education teacher and coached baseball for many years.

Tim was born in Compton, California, on Jan. 20, 1950, and raised in the nearby city of Downey. As a youngster, he played baseball, standing out as a left-handed first baseman.

After his high school graduation, Tim was drafted by the Kansas City Royals, but chose instead to pursue his education by enrolling at Cerritos Junior College. There he led the school’s team to two championships, and was named the All-Conference Most Valuable Player. After two years at Cerritos, Tim was offered a full-ride athletic scholarship to attend the University of California (USC). While playing for the USC Trojans, he scored a 347 batting average, which put him in tenth place in Trojan history. Twice he was named an All-Conference honoree, and twice he was named a member of the All-College World Series Team, in 1971 and 1972.

Tim also represented the United States in the Pan American Games, earning a silver medal. This accomplishment earned him a meeting with then-President Richard Nixon. Tim went on to play four seasons in the minor leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 1979, Tim joined the staff at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California. There he worked as a physical education teacher and coached baseball and football. Later, he joined the coaching staff at the University of Redlands in Redlands, and he also completed a stint as a baseball coach at San Bernardino Valley College. By the time Tim retired as an educator and coach in 2011, his career working with young people had spanned 30 years.

Sadly, Tim passed away on Dec. 17, 2022, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. To read more about Tim Steele, see this obituary published by Legacy.com.

Tara Cocanower named Indiana’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Congrats to high school social studies teacher Tara Cocanower of Bluffton, Indiana, who has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Chalkbeat Indiana

Congratulations to Tara Cocanower, a social studies teacher from Bluffton, Indiana. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Currently, Tara teaches World History and Advance Placement World History at Bluffton High School. In addition, she serves as the History Department team leader. She also is a leader in her school by working to mentor first-year educators and hosting cadet teachers. This school year, the innovative educator is partnering with a fellow Bluffton High School teacher to offer a new course in principles of teaching which introduces high school students to the education profession. In addition to her teaching role at Bluffton High School, Cocanower serves as the History Club advisor, the Head Coach for the girls golf team, and coaches the girls track and field team. She also organizes junior golf league and youth track meets to make sports accessible to all children in her community.
As a teenager, Tara graduated from Norwell High School in her home town of Bluffton. She then enrolled at the University of Southern Indiana, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education, with honors, in 2007. While earning her undergraduate degree, she was a member of the women’s golf team, garnering All-Conference and academic All-American awards.

After college, Tara joined the Peace Corps. She spent two years, from 2008-2010, as an education volunteer in Romania. There she worked with Roma youth, teaching English as a foreign language, working on local farms, and enhancing community development.

Upon returning to the United States, Tara accepted a position at Imagine Master Academy, where she taught from 2010 to 2012. There she was involved in curriculum development, participated in the character education task force, and coached basketball.

Tara’s next move was to Southwood Junior/Senior High School in Wabash County, Indiana, where she taught courses in Social Studies, World History, and Advanced Placement World History to seventh graders. She also coached both the girls and the boys golf teams. Her stint there spanned from 2012 to 2014.

To learn more about Tara, see this article published by Chalkbeat Indiana.