Do your teachers mock you about running around the gym in a speedo, crying about Tony Wroten, or spewing every five seconds like a bulimic? Well, my momma always told me that those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, and as it turns out, many teachers have had and continue to have vibrant athletic careers.

Ms. Suits

When Ms. Suits arrived at University of California Berkeley, she hated it. Coming from a background of high school water polo, she was looking for a sport in which she could bash people. “I was into contact,” she says.

One day, she was approached with an interesting proposition. A female rugby team was looking for players. “I said ‘that sounds good,’ and I never left. Rugby was community-oriented, really inviting. I fell in love with the people before I fell in love with the sport.” However, rugby itself grew on her. The team work and aggression played to her strengths.

Now, she travels year-round from California to Kamloops competing in leagues. Rugby is home for her. “The only real friends I really have are from rugby.”

Mr. Knapton

Mr. Knapton is a man cloaked in mystique. His quiet swagger indicates athletic prowess, but to most, the full extent of his success is unknown.

Despite growing up in Helena, Montana, Mr. Knapton was always aquatically inclined. His family lied about his age to get him into advanced swim lessons. He maxed out the YMCA swimming curriculum by age nine, then signed up for club swimming.

When high school rolled around, Mr. Knapton joined his school team. In his junior year he won state in the 200 and 500 meter freestyle. Senior year, he set state records in the 500 free and the 200 individual medley, as well as in the 200 medley relay.

Mr. Knapton received a swimming scholarship to the University of Washington, where he twice went to US nationals, something he considers his highest achievement.

While at UW, Mr. Knapton discovered bicycling. Initially, he rode simply to train his body, but then he began to love it. Currently, he does not swim any more than recreationally, but he does try to bike and downhill ski as often as possible.

Spang

Though Spang may be intimidating to his sophomore victims, he was not always the chiseled specimen he is today. “I was always little,” he says. “We were poor, and I had to compete for food. It molded me into this fierce little tiger child. I was always a ruffian.”

Spang’s survival instinct translated well into high school wrestling. After winning a Washington State championship, he received scholarship offers from schools such as Columbia, but instead took a couple of years off. When he did decide to go to college, only the University of Iowa would take him. However, the Hawkeyes are a wrestling powerhouse, and Spang was part of a national championship team.

These days, Spang’s primary athletic activity is prowling the track at lunch, wooing Ms. Snookal. Though he hasn’t wrestled in some time, it’s unlikely that there is any teacher who could take Spang.

Mr. Johnson

“I’m not a runner,” says Mr. Johnson. “Real runners would get me if I called myself one.” Mr. Johnson is an athlete who happens to run. “I run to stay in shape,” he says. “My wife’s into it.”

One day a week, Mr. Johnson runs to and from school. The other four days, he bikes, as long as he doesn’t have to carry too many papers

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Knapton form the studly chemistry double-header. However, in contrast to the stoic Mr. Knapton, Mr. Johnson uses his athleticism to help teach. The first time juniors see Mr. Johnson jump onto a lab bench from a standstill, they are always impressed.

Outside of school, he plays soccer in the Great Seattle Soccer League. He also is a downhill skier.

Mrs. O’Sullivan

Ms. O’Sullivan grew up in the cold. Butte, Montana was so cold, in fact, that she had an ice skating rink in her own backyard. From the earliest age, Ms. O’Sullivan was skating.

Butte during the O’Sullivan era was privileged to be the home of an ex-Olympic skater. Though Ms. O’Sullivan doesn’t recall her name, she will always be thankful for her influence. “She really helped me,” she says. As her abilities increased, so did her opportunities. “I was able to perform in a show when this Olympic skater came to Butte,” she says.

Ever since she moved away from Butte, Ms. O’Sullivan hasn’t had the opportunity to skate as much as she’d like. Then again, with weather this cold, it may not be long before a temporary ice rink forms on the Garfield field.