Three teachers share how sports have shaped their lives

Photo by PJ Yim

Math teacher PJ Yim bikes on a trail in Seven Springs Saratoga.

Students recognize the work teachers put into preparing lesson plans, grading assignments and helping students, but their lives outside of school are often mysteries. Between various school tasks, some teachers manage to find some free time for exercise or sports they are passionate about.

Science teacher Matthew Welander, math teacher PJ Yim and history teacher Jerry Sheehy are just some teachers that greatly value sports and have participated in many different ones throughout their life.

Physics and engineering teacher Matthew Welander continues to be a gym rat

Welander started working out in college to replace the sports that he used to play: In high school, he mainly played soccer but also ran track to keep conditioned. Once he reached college, he stopped playing sports and focused on the gym. 

Currently, he goes to the gym every morning before school around 6:15 to 6:30 a.m. to get a 30 to 45 minute workout.

Welander maintains a three-day split, targeting six different major muscle groups in total: arms, shoulders, abs, chest, back and legs. He has come to focus more on maintaining his health rather than pushing for personal records.

“I’m getting old enough that I no longer want to push myself to see the heaviest I can lift,” he said. “I am worried about injuring myself.”

Mountain biking and other sports forge thrilling memories for math teacher PJ Yim

Yim has been an avid athlete throughout both his childhood and teaching career. He played many sports like soccer, track and swimming, but eventually had to drop them after graduating from high school. One of Yim’s biggest regrets is not continuing swimming in high school the way his brother did.

With Taekwondo, however, he stuck with the sport until his late 20s. Yim started Taekwondo at a young age and as he grew older, he did it for exercise more than anything else. He said he was relatively good at the sport and even competed occasionally. 

“One of the guys that I used to work out with was a world champion, so there was a lot more rigor in the training,” Yim said. “It wasn’t like your typical Taekwondo learning facility.”

As he got further into his teaching career, Yim started pursuing mountain biking. English teacher Erick Rector was the main person who influenced him into giving it a try, and the two have gone on many rides together. Yim said it is a very adrenaline-rushing sport, and the thoughts of “Oh my god, am I gonna die?” continuously kick in during each trail.

He said he usually goes to places like Fremont, Los Gatos and Almaden to ride his mountain bike. 

“If I had the time, I would love to go to the French Alps and a place in Canada that has great mountain biking opportunities,” he said. “But biking on some of the extreme trails scares the living bejesus out of me.”

Basketball provides joy and something to be passionate about for World History teacher Jerry Sheehy

Throughout Sheehy’s life, he’s played a plethora of sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and cross country. Throughout his teenage years, he said he focused on basketball and loved everything about it. He also started playing golf in his leisure time as he got older.

Sheehy said he had big dreams involved with basketball when he was a kid. 

“I dreamed of one day becoming a coach, so I was pursuing that when I was in college and ended up coaching a few different high schools before coming to Saratoga High,” he said.

Whenever he has the chance, Sheehy plays with MAP World History teacher and boys’ basketball head coach Mike Davey, along with his former students. Regardless of the circumstances, Sheehy always finds basketball exhilarating because of the game’s fast pace.

“There’s a closeness between you, your teammates and your coach,” he said. “Whether you love them or hate them, it’s memorable.” 

In Sheehy’s personal life, family is first and next comes sports, but his main challenge is time. School is very busy for him, but he tries to squeeze in some type of sports whenever he has time. It provides a hobby and something to look forward to during free time.

“Sports is a passion in my life,” he said. “I love watching sports. I love playing sports. I love everything about sports.”