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Mr. Herpel and his JV soccer team pose for their fall picture on Friday, Aug. 30. School and soccer often get mixed together for Herpel when he relates stories about soccer to his Latin students and vice versa. “He talks to us about soccer all the time. If there was a bad call at a game the night before, we certainly know about it. He re-enacts the whole scenes; he’s so charismatic and it’s always hilarious!” senior Becky Salamon said.

Although it was a common belief in elementary school, it is now known by students that teachers don’t, in fact, live at school. However, most students don’t know how teachers fill their hours outside of the school building. For Latin teacher Tom Herpel, the answer to this question is simple: his time is spent prepping for school lessons and soccer practices.

“Because teaching and coaching are so time consuming (if you’re trying to do the best you can in both areas), it can be difficult to balance my time between the two.  I have a strong responsibility to both my students and players and so a great deal of preparation goes into both,” Herpel said.

This ‘responsibility’ manifests itself through 11-hour days spent devoted to teaching Latin and coaching soccer.

“When I think about, I don’t know why he’s never been the ‘teacher of the year’. He deserves it more than anybody! And I know I’m not the only person who thinks this, because all my friends love him too,” senior Becky Salamon, a fourth-year Latin student, said.

Herpel is popular among the students because of his easy going personality and clear teaching style. He has few lectures and provides group work and games. Students learn through firsthand experience, but note-taking sessions are incorporated to clarify these topics.

“The truth is, I probably wouldn’t be taking Latin if I didn’t have Mr. Herpel as a teacher. I love his teaching style, and he makes learning Latin fun. Overall, he rocks,” senior Becky Salamon, a fourth-year Latin student, said.

Herpel is not only liked among his students, but also by the athletes that he coaches. He has been coaching soccer for eight years.

“I love Herpel just cause he’s Herpel – he’s incredible! He puts so much into our team and makes us better everyday. He holds meetings for us before school to clarify our goals before big games. Basically, he takes time out of his school-day schedule to be a coach for us. There’s no way we couldn’t appreciate him. I would definitely select him for the teacher-of-the-year award,” sophomore James Noonan said.

However, the reason Herpel teaches is to give back to society.

“I teach because I feel that I can make a difference in the lives of those I teach. These are the most important years of their lives, and so many kids don’t have good role models. I try to be that role model for them and guide them towards adulthood,” Herpel said.