Fifth in a series
Re “A Farmboy He Wasn’t, Chabola Says”
[img]1372|left|Jerry Chabola||no_popup[/img] Having firmly determined the bucolic life, whether in his native Pennsylvania or elsewhere, was a wretched fit, retiring Culver City High School athletic Director Jerry Chabola did not waste time finding a career replacement.
From his earliest days, he has been committed to a life in sports. The classroom, though, was an equally compelling magnet.
While he has been a teacher-coach for most of his four decades as a professional, and his love for athletics is undoubted, Mr. Chabola’s aching heart strongly is in the classroom, from where he retired last Feb. 1.
“I had made up my mind, before college (at St. Mary’s in Northern California), or at least when I was in college, that I really enjoyed the academic part as well as the athletic participation,” he said.
As much as?
“Yes.
“I am sure there is an imbalance somewhere. I am sure sometimes I enjoyed the athletics more, then the academics more. I definitely enjoyed both.
His Thought Process
“When I made my decision I was going to go into education, I was going because it would allow me to stay involved with athletics. I could coach. That was an area I wanted to stay involved in.
“I don’t say this in a derogatory way, but I never really wanted to be a fulltime P.E. teacher,” as thousands of coaches are. “I wanted the interaction of being in a classroom.
“The more I learned from various people, the more I observed others, how they went about their jobs, it showed me that teaching and coaching can go hand-in-hand. They can be the very best of both worlds.
“Two or three hours a day, interacting with young people in an arena where they love to be, and then to have them in the classroom, you have an immediate bond in another area that allows you to do a lot of things. You can ask a lot. You can do this because they know who you are. They trust you.
“What you are saying, what you are doing, will be significant to them.”
As he turned back his classroom memories to yesterday, Mr. Chabola’s 63-year-old face, his easygoing, everpresent grin, generously was sprayed with springtime sunshine.
A gentleman inarguably at peace with himself.
Here was an almost-retiree who was, who is and who will do exactly what he wants. For many earthlings, that is the epitome of good living.
(To be continued)
