Most students know Mr. Brian Cooper as a laid-back science teacher at the middle school. However, outside of school, he takes on another important role that many people may not be aware of. He is the head coach of the boys’ swim team at New Providence High School, which participates in competitive meets against other schools in the area from December to mid-February.

To many, swimming is a recreational activity, just a hobby that people do in order to get exercise. However, for Mr. Cooper, swimming holds a special place in his life, as he has been involved in the sport since his youth. He was on a recreational team that met during the summer, and he also was on his high school team.  While he was on the summer team, he learned how to work with the younger kids.

“I started when I was 11, and the coaches, there weren’t that many of them at the time, and they needed more help. And I kind of liked working with kids, so that’s how I fell into coaching,” Cooper said.

By helping these children, he was able to get his first taste of what teaching would be like.

Cooper, whose mother is also a teacher who recently retired, was intrigued:  “When I went to college, I thought, ‘You know what? Let me try to investigate this teaching thing further. Let me see if I’m into it.’ I took a couple of classes, and I thought, ‘You know what? This is what I want my major to be.’ And that’s kind of what my path was.”

Today, he teaches science to 7th graders in room 514 and coaches high schoolers at the Jersey Aquatic Center. However, he believes there isn’t much difference between the two roles, as he connects teaching science to coaching through concepts like physics and drag, which are directly applicable to swimming.

He said:  “I enjoy coaching more because I like being out of the classroom in a different environment. I think being in a pool environment is kind of cool. You’re still teaching, but you’re in a different setting, doing so.”