It is very easy to let one thing consume your days.
A narrowed vision can hinder connection towards other experiences, prioritizing success in a section of life instead of growth.
This was true for Coppell’s Zackary Gonzalez, who coaches football and track, teaches geometry and strives not to let the same mistake happen to his students.
Gonzalez knew what he would do from age 6, following in his parents’ footsteps.
“I always knew that I would end up in a classroom teaching math like my mom and on the field coaching football like my dad,” Gonzalez said.
He spent his high school years at La Vernia High School near San Antonio with his dad on the sidelines for track meets and football games while also going home to his mom and his teachers hanging out together.
Focusing on his parents’ legacies, his college life included a degree in education and playing football at the University of Texas.
Gonzalez tries to embody what he learned from his parents: striving to be a role model for his students and humanizing them.
“At the end of the day, I want them to be great people and contributors to society. To do that, I put it on myself to try and be a model,” Gonzalez said. “I want them to see me out in the community with my little girls going trick or treating because we learn better from examples than we do just being told.”
An educator’s ability to connect with kids corresponds with their acknowledgment that students have a life outside of class and working with them. Gonzalez prioritizes this after seeing teachers outside of school in his childhood, applying it to his students as a teacher himself.
“I got to see teachers having a whole other life outside of the building,” Gonzalez said. “As a teacher, I am able to recognize that I am not going to give a heap load of homework because I know that my students have a ton of things going on outside of the classroom. I try to develop respect for each other’s time, talents and responsibilities outside of the schoolroom.”
Gonzalez shows a passion for his students, developing personal relationships throughout their high school experience as a mentor and confidant.
”We’ve grown closer each year because he’s not just a coach, he’s a friend. He can be strict but he’s also someone that you can joke with. If you know him on a deep level, he’s the funniest guy ever,” JV junior cornerback Chab Kahungu said.
Gonzalez endeavors to help his students personally, focusing on their growth throughout high school. Gonzalez’s ideology originates after breaking his ankle while playing at UT.
“I hope that people can learn who they are in the safety of the home during high school. For me, it was out in Austin, Texas, where I didn’t have the support to pick me up when I fell,” Gonzalez said. “I want them to learn now instead of on their own.”
Gonzalez motivates his athletes to do the best they can, and shows them he cares.
He sets an example for coaches as well, showing how to navigate teaching kids while also growing as a person and acknowledging mistakes.
“An admirable trait is his humility; how he can keep his ego aside, fix stuff he needs to fix coaching-wise, and focus on the team goal, not just his goal,” assistant football coach David Roulston said. “Gonzo’s humility and ability to laugh at himself make him a role model to his students.”
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