Starting his work days at 6:30 a.m. and walking out of the building at 7 p.m, Kelvon Blowe’s dedication to coaching soccer as well as teaching physics is nothing less than admirable. Managing his time between both roles is not a simple task, but Blowe juggles the positions proudly, teaching his students and athletes what it truly means to be committed.
In his fifth year of managing the two roles at Fulshear High School, Blowe has developed strategies to ensure that neither his classroom nor the soccer field suffers from a lack of attention.
“I definitely find myself prioritizing teaching over coaching,” Blowe said. “I would never leave a physics class or something like that, or something that I was involved in for my students, for soccer.”
Blowe’s prioritization of teacher before coach stems from his classroom philosophy and devotion to physics. He centers his course around student-led discovery, encouraging his students to explore the science on their own rather than lecturing them.
“I’m guiding you (the students) on this path of discovery,” Blowe said. “So you go ahead and you discover as much as you can, and then when we come into class, then we can say, ‘okay, let’s do some labs based on that. Let’s do some discussions based on that.’”
Blowe went on to explain his position, explaining that this class offers the opportunity for students to approach this class as real life.
“I want students to fill in holes for their own discovery, not so much that I’m going to lecture you every day, and then hopefully they get it,” Blowe said. “I go off the strength of my students.”
Blowe’s introduction to soccer began in high school. However, his introduction to coaching was a new and exciting possibility attached to the job description when he applied. Despite his experience with the sport only lasting a year in high school, his passion for the sport paired with his love for teaching made the dual role an appealing challenge.
“I’ve always been interested [in coaching], so when I applied for this job and it was attached to the coaching position, I thought ‘yes, I’ll do it, of course,’” Blowe said.
The demands of both roles take the heaviest toll on Blowe during the soccer season. He admits the long hours take a toll on him, but as time has gone on he’s become proficient at managing stress and balancing his roles as instructor on the field and in the classroom.
“It’s tough, especially during the season, because those are long nights. But this is year five. So I feel like I’m getting into mastery of teaching physics,” Blowe confidently said. “I definitely know how I want to do things. Now, when I run into problems, I’ll be here early. I’ll get here at 6:30 [a.m.], figuring out how do I put this thing together? I’ll work through lunch and I’ll work through my planning period, to make sure that I can do this thing for my students.”
Blowe has an equal amount of passion and priority for both physics and soccer, but at the end of the day, he’s still a physics teacher who sticks to his philosophies.
As Blowe says, “Student is first before athlete.”
