I am proud to say that I have been a BEE most of my life. I grew up in Bridgman with my parents, Mike and Pam, and my older sister Kelly. I attended Bridgman Public Schools and I loved every second of it. After high school, I attended Spring Arbor University where I met my wife Kelly. She is currently a Kindergarten teacher at Bridgman Elementary. Last spring we had a son, who we named Colton, he was born, March 26, 2011.
Competitive sports have always been my passion in life. I have competed in high school and college athletics. I enjoyed playing basketball, baseball, and golf at Bridgman High School. I was a first team all-state pitcher and an honorable mention all-state point guard. I was also named the Berrien County Athlete of the Year. I excelled well enough to earn a college scholarship to attend Spring Arbor University where I played basketball and baseball. After one year of basketball I decided to put all of my concentration on baseball. During my senior campaign I earned NAIA First Team All-American honors as a pitcher. After college I was offered a professional contract to play baseball with the Frontier League. I decided to hang up my cleats and become a teacher/coach.
I have come full circle in my teaching career. I started working at Bridgman Elementary School teaching 4th grade, in 2004. In 2008, I transferred to the Reed Middle School to be the male physical education teacher. This year I moved back into my old 4th grade classroom to teach math, language arts, science, and social studies again. I also coach the Bridgman boys freshman basketball team. During the summer I participate in competitive bass fishing tournaments.
I was taught that winning is important, but so is losing. I've learned not to let a temporary setback, like losing, become a permanent failure. Overcoming temporary setbacks will build character; the type of character that creates successful citizens. Ultimately, my goal is to build character and give my students/athletes the skills necessary to succeed at life.
Competitive sports have always been my passion in life. I have competed in high school and college athletics. I enjoyed playing basketball, baseball, and golf at Bridgman High School. I was a first team all-state pitcher and an honorable mention all-state point guard. I was also named the Berrien County Athlete of the Year. I excelled well enough to earn a college scholarship to attend Spring Arbor University where I played basketball and baseball. After one year of basketball I decided to put all of my concentration on baseball. During my senior campaign I earned NAIA First Team All-American honors as a pitcher. After college I was offered a professional contract to play baseball with the Frontier League. I decided to hang up my cleats and become a teacher/coach.
I have come full circle in my teaching career. I started working at Bridgman Elementary School teaching 4th grade, in 2004. In 2008, I transferred to the Reed Middle School to be the male physical education teacher. This year I moved back into my old 4th grade classroom to teach math, language arts, science, and social studies again. I also coach the Bridgman boys freshman basketball team. During the summer I participate in competitive bass fishing tournaments.
I was taught that winning is important, but so is losing. I've learned not to let a temporary setback, like losing, become a permanent failure. Overcoming temporary setbacks will build character; the type of character that creates successful citizens. Ultimately, my goal is to build character and give my students/athletes the skills necessary to succeed at life.