For 25 years, Jon Stapleton has taught PE/Health/Drivers Ed, as well as coached basketball and soccer at Downers Grove South High School (Downers Grove, IL). In addition to his teaching and coaching duties, Jon has also served as a sponsor to the club, Athletes Committed to Excellence.
As an assistant boys basketball coach, Jon played an instrumental role building one of the top programs in IL, one that earned 2 trips to the IHSA State Finals. As Head Boys Soccer Coach, he's won 6 conference championships, 6 regional titles, a sectional title, and in 2004, a state championship. Coach Stapleton is the winningest boys soccer coach in school history.
In this episode, Coach Stapleton explains:
- The value he found as a multi-sport athlete during his time as a student-athlete at DGS. Each sport, each individual coach, each scenario etc. taught life-long lessons that has shaped Jon both as a person and an educator
- Opportunity to help shape/grow a young person's life is powerful and, hopefully, the "why" for high school teachers and coaches
- It's crucial that teachers/coaches are genuine, open, show they care, and be available, which will foster meaningful relationships with their student/athletes
- When teachable moments arise that may not be in the textbook, educators need to be ok with pausing the curriculum to create a learning experience
- If coaches put effort into people, those athletes will then be more willing to give to the program
- Coaching legacy is not about wins; rather, it's about caring for athletes as people and modeling how to do it the right way
