Words From Steven

Who am I?

I am a small town country boy that moved to Lafayette and found out what it is like to live in a city.  I was an athlete in high school who played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track.  I lettered in all of the sports including all northeast defense in football, all northeast in basketball, and made the all-star team in baseball.  I always hated to lose.  I was competitive in everything I did, no matter what I was doing.  I want to have a good time wherever I went.  I try to do anything for my friends and help them out as much as I can.  I try to do the right thing and not get into trouble.  Throughout my life, I have respected my parents and tried to do whatever they wanted.  I am very grateful for having both my parents in my life.

            What do I want from life?

The most important thing I want from life is to be happy and make my parents proud of me.  I just don’t want to go through life being mad about things or worrying about what is going on in my life.  I want to be able to look back one day and think how great my life has been.

            What is my role?

My role in Lafayette is a full-time student.  I am learning how to do my profession when I graduate.  I am also a happy and proud member of the Greek Society.  Instead of playing sports for my school, I bring new people into our chapter to share the same experiences I have had.  Sigma NU has taught me many things.  I would have never become a member of my chapter, if I had not came to Lafayette for college.

            Why have I chosen a career in physical education and/or sport?

In my life, I have always looked up to two people, my dad and my coaches.  I always thought of my coaches as a second dad.  Now when I think about it, they were.  When I needed to get advice on something and did not want to ask my dad, I could always count on my coaches to be there for me.  My coaches helped mold and make me into the man I am today.  I just want to help my students and players as much as my coaches helped me. I think being a teacher and a coach is one of the best things to be in life.  Helping the students become adults is a great honor.

            What do I want from that career?

I want from my career the satisfaction that I did everything I could do to prepare my students for life. Teachers in high school do more than get students ready to go to college. They help prepare them for what will come after college.  I just want to have students look back at high school and remember one time that I helped them with a problem.

            Where do I want to go professionally?

I would like to be a teacher and a coach at a small private school. I think that I would like it better than a big school because you get to know the students and interact with them more.  I would like to stay in Louisiana because I think we have some of the best schools.  I want to be able to support my family with my career.

            How will I get there?

I will get there by finishing college and getting my degree.  I have to get a degree, so I can teach and coach at a high school.  Once, I am out of college and working at a high school, I have to learn how to balance coaching and teaching.  To be a successful coach, I have to learn how to teach my players how to be prepared for all of the games.  I have to listen to all of my coaches that are above me and under me, so we may do our best.  I know as a coach that the players get the glory for winning and the coaches get the blame for losing, so we want to win.

            What can I do now to help me?

Right now I could help my self the most by getting a job at a local high school.  I need to have coaching experience before I get out of college.  It will also help me in getting a job. Working at a high school right now would help me learn from other coaches besides the ones I learned from in high school.  I could also go to some of the coaching seminars in the summer to try to learn more about the sports I want to coach.

            What project income do I expect the first year?

I really do not have a specific number in mind for my first year’s income.  The average income for a coach right out of college would be fine with me.  I am going to work on getting a job and not worry about the money until later.  I think that if you do a great in coaching, then you may ask for a particular salary.

                What do you want to be in your career objective?

My career objective for my first year is to be an assistant coach for junior high baseball and football.  If there were openings for coaching in a high school, I would also consider those positions.  If I start out with the junior high teams, hopefully in two or less years, I will be helping the high school teams.  As a high school coach, I would like to help the defensive backs and special teams.  As a baseball coach, I would like to work with infielders and pitchers.   Hopefully someday, I will make head coach in football and baseball.  That will be my final career objective.