Gym class is a special part of school; it allows students to release energy during the day and gives them a break from typical school work. Cole Buschmann, a new teacher at Hollis Brookline High School, has built his career around sports and teaching. Journalism student Theresa Cullen sat down with him to discuss what interests him about both his career and sports in general. 

What is your favorite sport to watch or play? 

My favorite sport to play is disc golf. My favorite sport to watch, that’s difficult to say because before I was a teacher, I was an athletic trainer, so I got to watch a lot of sports and I grew to appreciate all sports for what they are. But I guess if I had to choose one sport to watch, it would be ice hockey.

You recently started teaching at HB, what part of being in this community have you enjoyed the most? 

I have really enjoyed working with my colleagues. The other teachers and the administrators here are very supportive, and very helpful… It’s been an easy transition into the school and the district itself, and there’s a very big sense of unity and a kind of teamwork here.

What’s it like working in the same district as your wife, who also teaches the same subject as you? 

Good question. It’s actually a lot of fun and it’s a good situation we have because even though we’re in the same district, we’re in two different buildings, teaching two different groups of kids and two different age levels; so we can kind of relate to each other, but we also give each other distance or, we have distance between us in one of us being at the middle school, and one at the high school. So I like it a lot. It’s great.

What is your favorite part about teaching PE? 

Beating all of my students in whatever sport, game, or activity we’re doing.

How do you pick which games to play in gym class or which things to focus on? 

So I try to pick games that would be new for the students. You know, obviously the big popular sports, like basketball and baseball, I try not to do because students can get themselves involved (or have been involved) in those on their own time. I try to pick the sports that are just unique and different compared to what they would normally play. And then how long we play, it depends on how the class is enjoying it. I kind of just feel that out and if they’re not really enjoying a certain activity then, you know, maybe after a week I move on to something else, but if they’re enjoying it, I kind of ride it out.

What was your favorite part of PE as a student? 

I actually did not like PE as a student because I come from a big city and we had about 75 kids in each PE class and they just rolled out a few basketballs and that was PE. So my experience is very different, but I kind of use that as motivation to give my students an opposite one.

Have you coached sports before, and what sports (if any) would you be interested in coaching in the future? 

I like a lot of sports. Like I said, I was an athletic trainer, so I kind of appreciate every sport for what it is. But if I had to pick a couple of sports I would want to be more involved in either baseball or lacrosse. I’m also interested in potentially starting a disc golf club here, or a weightlifting club. 

You coach indoor track; what do you think makes indoor track special? 

The variety of events. There’s events that focus purely on endurance, and there’s the other spectrum of events, events that focus on power and force development.

What are you looking forward to next year? Have you made any resolutions?

I usually don’t make any New Year’s resolutions… I guess for me personally, I don’t believe in them, not saying that people shouldn’t have them, but there’s never a wrong time to make a change and there’s also never a convenient time to make a change. So, in my opinion, the best way to make a change is to just do it immediately and take the plunge. So no specific New Year’s resolutions for me, except for I guess to continue to be an excellent husband, and a great father. But I do look forward to the future, and I’m just looking forward to getting to know the students here more and them getting more comfortable with me, and just getting more involved with the community.

Buschmann has become a crucial part of our school community. He works hard to make school engaging and fun for his students and always makes sure to ask students about their days. Buschmann is currently teaching gym, and helps with study hall. If you want to spend more time with him look to sign up for his CavBlock and keep your eyes open for any disc golf opportunities!