Here at Jackson-Reed, there are quite a few teachers and staff members who coach sports teams. Science teacher Jean-Claude Nkongolo stands out as one of the many hard-working teacher-coaches.
Nkongolo has been a teacher at JR since 2014, where he started solely as an educator. The next year, in 2015, he began to assist with the boy’s varsity soccer team, upon the request of the then-head coach Sal Caccavale. He continued to advance up the coaching ladder, becoming an assistant coach for the 2016 season, and making the jump to become head coach of the team in 2017. As the Tigers look toward their 2024 fall postseason, Nkongolo started his eighth season as coach of the boys varsity soccer and has an overall record of 75-24-10 as of September 30.
During his tenure, the Tigers have won four DCIAA championships and continue to be a perennial contender for a state title, narrowly missing out on penalties to St. John’s in 2018. As a coach, he has a great relationship with his players, but that relationship isn’t just seen on the field. To Nkongolo, having one of his athletes as a student in his classroom is an ideal and convenient situation.
“They see me on both sides, they see me as a coach and as a teacher, and I see them on both sides as well,” said Nkongolo. “One of the strengths of being a teacher is that you are always trying to build trust. You have to build trust between you and your students and, with my players, we’ve already built trust on the field, and they already know my expectations.”
Although balancing teaching and coaching is difficult, Nkongolo’s experience means that he doesn’t find it very difficult anymore. Sometimes the stacked schedule can even be beneficial and he finds the daily morning practices to be particularly convenient. “If you want to be a teacher, you have to be present. We practice really early in the morning, so it helps me being here on time to be available.”
Naturally, Nkongolo’s coaching duties mean he needs to leave the school early for games. Since 2021, this hasn’t been much of an issue, as his planning period is fourth period each day, but prior to the pandemic, that wasn’t the case.
It used to be that Nkongolo would frequently miss his fourth period classes and that would affect his students. “I kept constantly talking to my department chair, to explain to them that it’s in the students best interest if I have fourth period as my planning period,” Nkongolo recalled. “It’s a win-win situation, I wouldn’t have to miss class, they wouldn’t have to find a new substitute teacher to pay for, and my kids aren’t missing a learning opportunity.”
While teaching both in the classroom and on the field, Nkongolo and the Tigers aim to finish the season strong, and to make another deep run this postseason.
