Throughout my life, I have had different teachers, coaches, and many other types of educators that have molded me into who I am today. However, nobody would have a bigger effect on me than my high school football coach, Coach Skaros. My freshman year was his first year coaching at Arrowhead High School.

Showing up to the first contact days as a small freshman, I was definitely the little fish in a big and talented pond. It was all about hard work and pushing yourself to your limits and Coach Skaros knew this better than anyone.

When I was younger, I played Chiefs Football, which is a youth program for kids in grades 5-8, and always just thought of it as joking around with my friends. I was blown away by how much everyone cared and how serious everyone took football when I showed up the first day. I was joking around and just going through the motions and he noticed this. He took me to the side one day after practice and told me I needed to focus because I had great potential. This struck me hard and made me realize that if I wanted to accomplish my goal of being a starter, I had to listen to Coach.

The great thing about Coach Skaros is you just know he cares about the player you are on and off the field. When you do something right, he praises you. But when you do something wrong he tells you what to do next time and helps you become better.

During my time at Arrowhead, we had many coaches come and go through the program. However, Coach Skaros was one of four coaches that stuck with us all four years. Even better, he was my personal defensive back coach and he helped me grow as a player. He had a emphasis on getting better in the offseason and he taught me what it means to work hard for something. He taught me that if you are going to do something do it 110% or don’t do it at all.

He is also a teacher at Arrowhead and although I have never had him for a teacher, I have heard he is an even better teacher than coach. He really tries to relate to the kids in a way that most teachers don’t. Being a teacher is his passion and he loves it but coaching is something he does because of his love for the game. He gives up his time with his family to come and help make an impact on our lives and I wouldn’t ask him to anything more. I was sure lucky to have such an amazing coach in my life.