Spotlight on a Coach - Emory Bartolazzi

"I think the hardest part of my job is that I have to wear a lot of different hats," said Emory Bartolazzi, teacher and coach at The Woodlands High School.

"You have to go from a disciplinarian, to a renaissance man, to an innovator, to an instructor, and everything in between," Bartolazzi said.

Physics teacher by morning, basketball and football coach by afternoon, and husband and father around the clock, Bartolazzi's job is certainly not easy. He first decided that he wanted to be a coach around his junior year in high school.

"The people that had the most influence on my life outside of my parents were probably my coaches, and I kinda decided I wanted to follow in their footsteps," Bartolazzi said.

When many think of a coach, the words "academic" and "scholarly" are not the first to come to mind.

"A coach teaching physics? That's such a joke!" said Sara Manning, a graduate of The Woodlands High School.

Think what you will about coaches, but Bartolazzi graduated from A&M in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in physics and kinesiology.

Although he sometimes teaches chemistry, he enjoys physics more. "Its a more concrete subject than chemistry," said Bartolazzi. "It’s something that I can actually visualize, rather than the minute spaces in between molecules, or the infinitesimal spaces in between atoms, nuclei, and electrons."

Those who know Coach Bartolazzi often use words such as energetic or enthusiastic to describe him, and perhaps one of the first things that becomes apparent when you meet him is that he genuinely appears to love his job.

"I understood early on that to be good at what I do I have to enjoy it. So I found first what I enjoy, and hopefully will strive to be good," said Bartolazzi.

Though some may think of coaches as being drillmasters, Coach Bartolazzi would prefer to be a facilitator of learning both on and off the field.

"You can't make people learn, and I think that’s true with coaching too," said Bartolazzi, "You can inspire them to want to, you can hope that they want to, you can put them in a situation where they need to want to , but they have to want to before you can help them."

And several students agree his teaching philosophy seems to work.

"Just the way he explained everything, it was funny, yet unique in a way that made you retain the information," Michael Olive, senior at The Woodlands High School, said.

If his career has been anything, it certainly has not been uneventful. On Tuesday, November 13, 2007, in the middle of football practice, Bartolazzi went into cardiac arrest. Thanks to the quick response of people like Coach Murchison, the trainers, and to the availability of AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators), he survived with no long term complications.

"Medically there's still no explanation," said Bartolazzi. "They've ruled out heart attack, any sort of structural abnormality, or any recurring electrical problem. What its officially listed as is ‘Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation' which means we have no idea why it happened, it just started spontaneously fibrillating."

Coach Bartolazzi has his own ideas about what caused the seemingly random cessation of his heart's functioning.

"I firmly believe it was the Lord sending a message," said Bartolazzi. "And I am not sure it was just to me. It happened at a time in my life where I was worried about day to day stuff, not how blessed I was overall. I think it has highlighted the good decisions of those around the district to have AEDs on campus, and provided exposure for the good work that the trainers do every day."

There is not much chance of his heart stopping again, and even should that happen, Coach Bartolazzi has an implanted defibrillator that monitors his heart and can deliver the same shock that an external defibrillator would. So naturally, he is not overly concerned about his own health. However, as a father he has more than himself to worry about.

"The only lasting concern I've ever had about it was that I might be passing something on to my son. We've had lots of tests done on him as well, and nothing to worry about, we're told."

Coach Bartolazzi's son is only two years old, and has more than a long time before he needs to decide on his future, but Bartolazzi wants that decision to be intrinsically motivated.

"I don't care if he never takes the athletic field. My hope for him is that whatever he does, he does it all out. If you want to be a musician, dedicate yourself to being a musician; if you want to be a writer, dedicate yourself to being a writer; if you want to pursue a military career, dedicate yourself to that, but whatever you’re doing, do it. Don't dabble." said Bartolazzi.

Coach Bartolazzi counts himself fortunate to be able to coach both basketball and football at a school like The Woodlands, but hopes to one day become a head coach.

“In the couple opportunities that I’ve had, I have had to weigh what I was giving up against what I’d be gaining,” said Bartolazzi.

To many, The Woodlands High School would not be the same place without Coach Bartolazzi. Were he ever to leave, the school would feel the loss of the passion and energy he brings with him to work each day.