Coach Avila: Coaching Minds, Not Just Players
Sana Hadid
September 20, 2024
What makes a good teacher? Most agree that a good teacher supports students and teaches valuable lessons. They also try to create genuine connections. They go out of their way to make students feel seen and heard and try to be a trusting and supportive adult. The teacher highlighted this month is Alfred Avila, a football coach and health teacher at Seaside High School.
Avila has been a football coach at Seaside High for nearly 40 years, starting in 1984. When asked about what his favorite part of coaching football is and he responded heartwarmingly, “The relationship with my boys. Watching them grow into young men, that’s my favorite part. I love my players.” As he explained, the sincerity in his voice was more than evident. It’s very clear that he keeps a close relationship with the football players and cares deeply about them.
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After teaching for over three decades, one might think that Avila has always wanted to be a teacher. When he was asked about this, his response was, “No, I didn’t want to be a teacher at all.” This response may come as a surprise, but he went on to say, “Actually, in 1987 I was a liaison counselor. They tried to get me to become a teacher but I said no.” His statement is shocking because Avila is a well-known and respected teacher on this campus. His perspective has changed drastically since he first started teaching and his love for his job is apparent.
Avila seems to have many interesting and captivating stories throughout his career, and he also has a lot of advice and wisdom to give. However, he was asked about the best advice he’s ever been given. As he pondered about it for a moment, he stated, “I’ve been given a lot of good advice. One of them is to always love everybody, regardless of who they are.” As he explained further, his response was filled with genuineness. He described the advice that his mother gave him from a young age which is to love everybody regardless of who they are. He dives further, saying, “It’s easier for me to forgive people, so my foundation is to be able to love other people.” The way he describes this advice is truly inspirational. He also mentions that you should share your love with everybody.
Outside of school, some of Avila’s favorite things to do include hiking and spending time with his grandkids. He also mentioned he enjoys reading and going on walks. He described his love for doing simple things. “I enjoy the simplicity in life. We always think we need to do these big things, but just the simple things matter.” Avila shares his thoughts about living a simple and humble life. Furthermore, he describes the little things in life that make him happy. “Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning on the beach, those things. Those small, simple things make me happy.”
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In addition to coaching football, Avila also teaches Freshman Seminar: Health and Wellness, a class that all freshman students take at Seaside High. Freshman Seminar is a one-semester course that helps freshmen transition from middle school to high school and familiarize themselves with the high school experience. Topics such as emotional & physical health, nutrition, alcohol & drug prevention, first aid, and violence prevention are also covered.
Avila started teaching Freshman Seminar in 1987 but started as a PE teacher for around seven years. When asked how he feels about teaching freshman seminar, he said, “I was upset. I didn’t want to do freshman seminar.” He then went on to explain a story about a girl in his freshman seminar class who confronted Avila in front of the whole class. She exclaimed, “Coach Avila, you’re a great PE teacher, but you’re a lousy health teacher.” Avila also mentioned, “It took one girl for me to wake up, and that’s what made me do it. And now I love the class, I never want to go back to PE.” He stated that this student helped him become the teacher and role model he is today. Avila shares this humorous story and it’s apparent that he takes his teaching job very seriously and genuinely cares about the freshmen students. Avila also stated, “A lot of teachers don’t want to teach freshmen, but I love them. I think they’re the best class to teach.” Avila’s responses show his dedication to his students, and how he truly is a great role model for all students on this campus.
Thank you Coach Avila for your time and responses! You truly deserve to be this month’s Teacher of the Month.
