EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR: COACH DEREK ARCANGELLO


The legendary Coach Derek Arcangello, known affectionately as “Coach A”, is a three-time all American wrestler, physical education expert, and the funniest person I know. Never in my life have I met someone who is more laid back and humorous than him. He makes me crack up laughing every time I look at him, partially because he looks like a Leprechaun. But why should he be the teacher of the year?


The coach, and physical education teacher from my middle school, H. B. DuPont, is the number one choice as educator of the year. He is so cool and funny on every level possible. He made up a new joke every day and loved to make the young students laugh and help them be successful in school in any way he could. In fact, one time at a wrestling match, Coach A let one of our wrestlers George run around the mat screaming like a bird. Coach Arcangello thought it was a “productive way” to show pride in our school. So when the referee tried to suspend George for his unsportsmanlike behavior, Coach A jumped in and explained to him that he wasn’t doing anything wrong in a less than polite manner.


Why was Coach Arcangello a good coach? Because, he was always ready to give you an answer. You could ask him any question and he would always answer it in a way that was kind and compassionate. If you asked him how to do a wrestling move, you were guaranteed to be able to execute it by the end of practice. He loved to see us win and loved to see us smile and succeed doing it. That was his motivation to be a coach. That is also what made him a great coach.


Our coach loved his job because he could teach us about his favorite sport and he enjoyed doing it. He could also make it a fun experience by making games for us to play during practice. He also loved it because he had faith in us and that we would win that match. He would never doubt that we would be able to bring home the gold.



Coach A loved to teach us and was able to give us advice on health. He loved it when we asked him challenging questions. You could tell the coach anything and he would help you out. Sometimes, he gave you a solution right on the spot. He did a good job at it and he earned the job. He shared many life experiences, and mistakes that we shouldn’t make. Coach Arcangello is by far the coolest guy I know, and he is always going to be my number one teacher and friend. He taught us everything that we would experience our freshman year and he prepared us well. I believe that Coach A is the best guy ever. In my mind, he wins the educator of the year award any day, and continues to be a daily inspiration to me.