Most students hear the word “educator,” and instantly they begin to imagine their English or math teacher, but the word goes far beyond teaching poetry, radicals, etc. Educators are those who can provide instruction and education on perhaps any topic relevant to what their students seek. I will get straight to the point and say this essay is about my St. Anthony of Padua middle school basketball coach, Chris Corbino, and I can say confidently that there is no better coach in the world. I would not be who I am today without the help of my coach, and even though I do not play for him any longer, he is still my coach at heart. My old teammates agree that he truly changed the game for us. He taught us more things that go beyond beyond jumpshots and dribbling. The lessons he taught my whole team will stay with us throughout our lives, and my friends and I still reminisce about them to this day.  

What is the main goal of any sports team? It is to win, and some coaches are oblivious to their players’ needs when their mindset is focused on something other than them. Coach Corbino cared for each and every one of us dearly, and he always helped us in our areas of struggle. I remember him calling one player at a time over to help them with shooting, dribbling, defense, or whatever. He was persistent on making every single one of us better. He wanted to win, but he knew he couldn’t win without the entire team working their hardest and having fun all together.

 Good senses of  humor and joy, in my opinion, are characteristics that all people should have. Not only did my coach have a good sense of humor and sense of joy, he used his humor and fun-loving nature to make practice something to look forward everyday. In drills he would get involved with us and always shout things at us that would make us laugh. Before, during, and after practice, he would ask us how school was and actually take the time to listen to each of us. He loved seeing smiles, and he never failed to make a practice boring. He would always say something to make us smile when we were all down from a loss, and he would make us ready to work harder for the next one.

  Every single person builds bonds in life that lead from becoming acquaintances to friends, and friends into their family. My coach gave me the Coach’s Award for the varsity team, and the speech he gave about me nearly brought tears to my face. He talked about me like I was his own son, sounding so proud yet so sad that I would be leaving. He ended his speech with “I love you, kid,” and that was where I realized that I had created one of those bonds that became family. With everything that he’s done for our school and everything he has done individually to help us grow and remember our years of basketball together, I still smile the most when thinking of how he managed to create a family I’ll remember throughout my entire life.

 Trust me when I say the list goes on when talking about why Coach Corbino deserves the Educator of the Year. Nowadays when we cross paths, I tell him everything going on with school and basketball and every time he has told me, “I am so proud of what a fine, young man you have become.” He is a man who will always make you work your butt off, but you can’t do it without a smile on your face. He did not just make basketball a game for us, but he made it a lifestyle. He did not look at us as a bunch of kids to deal with for a few months, but he took us and built a family and made us all love the game. He made me want to pursue basketball further, and even though he will not be coaching me again anytime soon, I will still play with the heart, love, and intensity he brought out in me. This is why Chris Corbino deserves Educator of the Year.