Tag Archives: Physical Education Teachers

Ellen Tronnier, Wisconsin PE teacher, once played in All-American Girls Baseball League

Posted on by

Wisconsin physical education teacher Ellen Tronnier played as an outfielder in the All-American girls Professional Baseball League during World War II. Photo Credit: AAGPBL

Many excellent teachers have also earned fame as talented athletes. One of these was Ellen Tronnier, a Wisconsin physical education teacher who once played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II. Those who are familiar with the 1992 movie A League of their Own starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, and Madonna know very well about this unique group of women athletes.

Ellen, who was an outfielder, was 5’6″, 135 pounds. She batted and threw right-handed. After making it through two grueling try-outs, she earned a position in the league playing on a team called the South Bend Blue Sox. Having been born in Cudahy, Wisconsin, on June 28, 1927, she was only 15 years old at the time.

After only one season on the team, Ellen decided to pursue her education. She left the league and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. After she completed her degree there, she taught physical education in the Milwaukee Public School District. She taught at both South Division High School and Sholes Middle School. Her career as a teacher spanned a total of 33 years. During these years, which included the 1970s, Ellen opened a baseball school for girls sponsored by the Milwaukee Recreation Department.

While she was still teaching, Ellen, played club softball for 27 years, competing in numerous tournaments. She was an accomplished fast pitch softball player, and the teams she played on won several league, state, and regional championships. In 1956, her club won three National Invitational Tournaments.

When the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cooperstown, New York, an entire section of exhibits was dedicated to the All-Girls League. Ellen was recognized as one of the 560 women who had, at one time or another, played in the league. In 1990, Ellen was inducted into the Wisconsin Softball Association Hall of Fame. Even throughout her retirement, the former teacher remained active, encouraging young women to engage in competitive sports while she signed baseball cards and reminisced about the days when she payed baseball.

Sadly, Ellen Tronnier passed away on May 21, 2015, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was 87 years old. She was interred at Arlington Park Cemetery in Greenfield, Wisconsin.

 

Former NFL football player Todd Gerhart now a successful coach

Posted on by

Former NFL football player now works as a successful football coach and physical education teacher in Southern California. Photo Credit: The Press Enterprise

There are many examples of talented athletes who have distinguished themselves as coaches and teachers after they have concluded their careers in sports. One of these is former NFL football player Todd Gerhart, who became a football coach and physical education teacher in public schools in Southern California after his career in the NFL concluded.

Todd, who was born on December 8, 1962, attended Norco High School in Norco, California. At 5’11” and 235 pounds, he made a great choice as a running back. Following his high school graduation, Todd enrolled at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) in Fullerton, California. He played football for the Titans from 1981 to 1984. Once he graduated from CSUF, Todd was drafted by the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (USFL). He also played in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Minnesota Vikings and did a very brief stint with the Houston Oilers.

When he retired from professional football, Todd returned to his alma mater, Norco High School, when he accepted a position as a physical education teacher and Head Football Coach. The school in located in the Corona Norco Unified School District. During his tenure, which lasted nine years from 2004 to 2012, the Cougars posted a combined record of 85-28. Two times in three years, the Norco team advanced to the CIF Championship, and they won the title in 2005 and 2006.

in 2013, Todd transferred to first Auburndale Intermediate and then Norco Intermediate, also schools in Corona Norco Unified School District, where he taught physical education. And he also worked as an Assistant Coach at Vista Murrieta in Murrieta, California, from 2018 to 2021.

In 2022, after a nine-year absence, he has returned to Norco High School, where he has accepted a position as an Offensive Consultant. “In some ways, it kind of feels like I never left,” Todd remarked. “It felt great walking back into the office and seeing the history on display… I’m ready to help out, and it’s been fun, so far.”

To read more about this amazing educator, read the article at CNS Sports entitled Gerhart Juggles Fatherhood, Coaching and Heisman Hoopla.

“Wolverine” actor Hugh Jackman also worked as a PE teacher

Posted on by

Hugh Jackman, who earned celebrity status for playing the role of Wolverine in the popular X-Man film series, was once a physical education teacher. Photo Credit: The Guardian

Hugh Jackman has earned celebrity status for playing the role of Wolverine in the popular X-Men film series. But did you know that before he became an actor, he was a physical education teacher in England?

Hugh was born in Sydney, Australia, to parents who had immigrated to the Down Under from the United Kingdom. As a youngster, he attended public schools, where he sometimes participated in amateur theatrical productions, until his graduation from high school.

At first, Hugh toyed with the idea of become a journalist, and he enrolled at Sydney’s University of Technology. It was during his gap year in 1987 that Hugh accepted a position as a physical education teacher at Uppingham School, a public school located in Uppingham, England. At the conclusion of his teaching assignment, Hugh returned to Sydney, where he completed the requirements for his Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Technology in 1991. By then, Hugh had been bitten by the acting bug, so he enrolled in “The Journey” at the Actors’ Centre in Sydney, where he completed a one-year course. Next he attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at Edith Cowan University located in Perth. There he earned a second degree in 1994.

As it turns out, the former teacher’s decision to change careers turned out to be a good one. His most celebrated role is as Wolverine in the X-Men movies, a character he played from 2000 to 2017. He was also cast in the lead role in the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold in 2001;  the popular musical Les Miserables in 2012; the musical The Greatest Showman in 2017, and the political drama The Front Runner in 2018. In addition, he voiced roles in the animated films Happy Feet in 2006; Rise of the Guardians in 2012; and Missing Link in 2019.

Throughout his acting career, Hugh has earned many accolades. For his role as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, he was nominated for an Academy Award and he won a Golden Globe Award, and for his role in The Greatest Showman, he earned a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album. He has also garnered two Tony Awards.

 

PE teacher, retired football coach, and former pro football player Zach Valentine

Posted on by

Physical Education teacher, retired football coach, and former professional football player Zack Valentine of Woodbury, New Jersey. Photo credit: nj.com

I always enjoy sharing stories about former professional athletes who have enriched the lives of young people as teachers and coaches. One example of this is Zack Valentine, a former professional football player who became a successful high school football coach and physical education teacher in New Jersey.

Zack was born on May 29, 1957, in Edenton, North Carolina. As a youngster, he attended John A. Holmes High School in the Edenton-Chowan School District. After his high school graduation, Zack attended nearby East Carolina University.

After college, Zack played pro football for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1979-1981), and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1982 season. With the Steelers, the 6’2″, 220-pound linebacker garnered a coveted Super Bowl ring in 1979.

After Zack concluded his professional football career, he accepted a position as a physical education teacher at Woodbury High School in Gloucester, New Jersey. He also served as the Head Football Coach for the Thundering Herd for 11 seasons. During his tenure, he led his team to a 10-2 record (2012) and three trips to the South Jersey Group 1 Final, including one championship in 2009. That year, the Gloucester Times designated the victorious coach their Football Coach of the Year. Overall, Zack’s record was 82 wins and 37 losses. Only one other coach in Woodbury High history has logged more wins.

As a coach, Zack is known for his focus on more than what his players accomplish on the field; he is immeasurably concerned about what they also accomplish in their academics and in their personal lives. “He’s been a great coach to these kids,” says Woodbury’s Athletic Director Grant Shivers, “and sometimes I don’t think our kids always understand how lucky they are to have a coach like him.” He retired from coaching in 2012, but continued to teach physical education.

Read more about this amazing educator and coach through this article, 2009 Football Coach of the Year, published in the Gloucester Times.

Texas PE teacher and coach Joey Rodriguez succumbs to Covid-19

Posted on by

Sadly, beloved Texas PE teacher and soccer coach Joey Rodriguez succumbed to Covid-19 on Oct. 17, 2021. He was only 43 years old. Photo credit: The Dallas Morning News.

We are sad to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Joey Rodriguez, and teacher and coach from Arlington, Texas, succumbed to the disease on Sunday, Oct. 17.

At the time of his passing, Joey was a Physical Education teacher and soccer coach at Sam Houston High School in the Arlington Independent School District. Joey Rodriguez devoted 12 years of his professional life to the school.

Former student Selena Saldana, class of 2013, says she will greatly miss her former teacher. “He was my high school PE teacher, and he was always pushing me to do much more,” she remembered. “Every time we had to run on the track and I would stop to take a break, he would yell, ‘Come on, Selena. You can do it. Don’t stop now.’ He was really supportive,” she said.

In addition to teaching physical education, Joey worked as the school’s soccer coach since 2009. “Twice, he led his soccer teams to the state championship,” recalled  Marcelo Cavazos, Superintendent of Arlington Schools. “He grew the program so rapidly that the district had to hire more coaches so that all of the kids who wanted to learn from Coach Rodriguez could have the opportunity,” Cavazos noted.

Coach Rodriguez’s Sam Houston team made their first state tournament appearance in school history in 2015.That year, the student athletes reached the Class 6A semifinals and finished 23-3-2. In 2017, the Sam Houston team was the state runner-up, losing to Jesuit in overtime in the title game to finish 22-3-2. Sam Houston High School is one of only three schools in the Arlington District to qualify for the state tournament in boys soccer. In addition to coaching, Joey served as the President of the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches.

Joey graduated from Abilene High School in 1995 where he participated in soccer, football, and marching band. After his high school graduation, Joey enrolled at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he studied and played soccer for two years before transferring to Hardin Simmons University in Abilene. He graduated from Hardin Simmons with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 2001.