Randall Black

Coach Black is most definitely an inspiration in my life. When I first met Coach Black in 7th grade, my head was not straight. I was always focused on academics and not what I can do to better myself mentally. I would be a closed minded person at times and wasn't thinking about the bigger picture. In his class, we would do GIGs and have discussions. I loved to share but only if I was open about the subject of the matter. We would have open debates about our GIGs and Coach would share his words of wisdom and if it hit deep he would say, "Put on your floaties, we're about to go into deep water." During the time at school I felt like I could trust Coach on a much deeper level than a teacher student relationship. I shared to him the horrors of my past and he accepted them for what it made me in that moment in time. He showed me who I was because of everything that happened. Coach has helped my family out many times, he set my mom up with a realtor; even if we still haven't moved, he made an effort. He also has helped me get a ride home from events when my mom was unavailable to do so. Even with his own personal problems, he puts in the work to make sure his students are doing good. As Student Council Adviser, Coach took on the job in the middle of my 7th grade year. Things happened with our old adviser and we needed a new one. The Council nominated Coach and he accepted. His guidance has helped the council be better and stronger than what we started out with. Not only in the council has his guidance helped me, but in class and at home. My family has gone through its ups and downs and Coach has helped me understand and get through them. Whenever I got flustered Coach would help calm me down and guide me down a different path than I was already headed down. One of the most remembered GIGs that I did in his class was, "Two roads diverged into the woods and I took the one less traveled by! What does that mean?" It means that you took the longer route to reach your goal. Or you were a reckless teen and made bad decisions but corrected yourself and had a better life because of it. There will always be a long road wherever you're headed, but don't take the easy way out of it. Coach has always been told me to be great. Not the best I can be, great. The definition of great is, "of an extent, amount, or intensity, considerably above the normal or average. " Those words have pushed me past my limits, academically and mentally. I have opened up that close minded mind of mine and been able to accept things for how they are. My iReady scores have increased and that lets me know that I have surrounded myself with people that help me improve in many areas of my life. I am very thankful to have Coach Black in my life, as a teacher and inspiration.

Wednesday Munson