Two weeks of basketball. Two weeks of softball.
Two weeks of archery. By Paul Singley ‘03
TWO WEEKS of basketball. Two weeks of softball. Two weeks of archery. Every two weeks, Tony Loomis
’04 was to teach a new sport to students at Naugatuck High School in Connecticut. Those were the instructions in his first year as a physical education teacher in 2004. “At first, I was all about it
because I was just ready to teach; I was itching to get into the class- room,” he said. But Loomis noticed something
funny during those first few classes: most of the students didn’t want to participate. Those who disliked sports could not imagine how learning to shoot hoops or hit a target with an arrow was going to help them in the future. For those students, Loomis initially didn’t have much of an answer. Through the years, though, he
began incorporating lessons with every class about how physical activity benefits the body and mind. He made every lesson mean something to every student, regardless of whether they were athletes. With the blessing and guidance of his fellow teachers and administrators, Loomis began incorporating constant movement, music, and discus- sion about healthy lifestyles into every lesson he taught. Soon, all students were looking forward to “gym class,” though they wouldn’t call it that in front of Loomis, who takes his role as a physical educator very seriously. It is apparent the physical education
community across the country takes Loomis seriously, as well. Loomis was chosen as the National High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE America (the Society of Health and Physical Educators, formerly the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance).
The awards are given in
recognition of outstanding teaching performance and the ability to motivate today’s youth to participate in a lifetime of physical activity, according to SHAPE America’s website. That is what Loomis does on
a regular basis, said Naugatuck High School senior Alexis Simko. Simko, who admits she never
enjoyed physical education, said she now looks forward to Loomis’ class. She recently wrote him a note on the back of her senior picture: “The lessons you teach are life lessons. It’s an amazing thing what you are doing; changing the students and their ways of thinking changes the world around them.” While the note was
flattering, it was not unexpected; Loomis says he learned the power of physical education as a student at Springfield College. “Springfield College really
Tony Loomis
helped me build a foundation for teaching,” he said.
It also taught him to think outside the box. At the beginning of
He made every lesson mean something to every student, regardless of whether they were athletes.
every school year, Loomis shows students a picture of a rain cloud. Inside every raindrop is the name of an ailment: diabetes, stroke, hypertension. The next photo shows an umbrella with
spokes made of phrases like “taking your heart rate” and “how to strength train properly.” “I think of it as there is this big rain storm
out there, and I’m trying to give students something to protect against it,” he said.
“The catch is, they have to be the ones holding the umbrella.”1
Paul Singley ’03 is senior reporter/Web advocate for the Waterbury, Conn., Republican-American.
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