In the school district where I live, Asheboro High School has recruited a highly successful mid-career football coach; and fans are already speculating about taking the program from good to great.  The coach has an excellent reputation, a consistent winning record, and a state championship to his credit.  There are good reasons for high hopes.

Success breeds more success in any endeavor; and it also attracts more participation.  When an athletic program succeeds, more students try out for the team and more fans show up for the games.  The same is true for community theaters, colleges, hospitals, and charities.  People join and support successful organizations.

This made me wonder; what would happen if we treat academics the same way we treat athletics?  We hire physical education teachers to provide basic classes for everyone, intending that all students will achieve some level of regular physical activity and competence along with basic understanding of personal health.  For those who have the will and ability to excel, something different happens.  Student-athletes who want to push themselves to the limits of their abilities are matched with coaches who have the skills and desire to help them achieve their best.  We don’t match the basketball coach with the clumsiest kids just because they seem to need the most help.  To do that would frustrate both the coach and the students.  Instead, we match the student athlete with the coach who can provide the most help.  What might happen if we apply that model to academic subjects?

Suppose that for our most highly motivated and talented students, we hired teachers who have the specialized skills and desire to help them achieve their best.  Because these students have already achieved the basics and are motivated toward exceptional performance, their teachers would be expected to function like coaches.  The goal would be to develop each student to the maximum extent of her or his ability and motivation.

Suppose that students and teachers achieve results comparable to sports programs.  A few, like the three sport athlete, will excel at several academic areas.  They will be the ones who choose to put in an astonishing amount of work for the thrill of learning, and we won’t know who they are until they have the opportunity.  Their intensity is like that of the football player who does more after two-a-day workouts. They need a teacher-coach who can take them to their limits.

The successes of a few students are likely to inspire others.  When a high school sports program has a winning tradition, more young children take up the sport.  So-called “minor” sports such as swimming grow at schools with traditions of success. The same phenomenon can occur in academics.

Such challenging academic programs are not for everyone, just as varsity sports are not for everyone, but it’s exactly what some students crave after they find the right subject and a coach who inspires excellence.  Like dedicated athletes, there are few limits on how hard they will work or how much they can achieve.

Teacher-coaches for these classes will need freedom to adjust subject matter and teaching style to their students and community.  Their students have already mastered the basics so they don’t need a standardized curriculum.  Instead, they need opportunity and inspiration to follow their own interests as far and as fast as they can go.

Consider the sports analogy again by thinking about the 2017 Mens NCAA basketball tournament.  There were 68 teams featuring various styles and coaching philosophies.  Everyone worked and played as hard as they could to achieve excellence.  In that sense, there was not a loser among them.   One reason for their success is the work of high school coaches.  What if we encourage teacher-coaches and allow them to prepare our most highly motivated students the same way sports coaches prepare athletes?

Once this change is made, many parents will demand admission of their children to schools that provide such opportunities.  The exodus of families with high academic expectations from our public schools will reverse itself and public support (including funding) will blossom.  Academic volunteers and boosters will be just as common as they are for varsity sports.

Some (many, I think) of our kids have the will and ability to achieve academic excellence if we rigorously select and encourage teacher-coaches as we do sports coaches.  Let’s give our students and their teachers opportunities and encouragement to reach the limits of what they can achieve.