When Teachers Tackle Football: How Staples High’s Early-Morning Workout Rewired Student-Teacher Bonds

Table of Contents

1. Key Highlights:
2. Introduction
3. How the idea began: spotting a culture that needed widening
4. The workout: structure, sequence and moments that mattered
5. Standouts: teachers who became players, and players who became hosts
6. Why this mattered to players: accountability, culture and visibility
7. Why this mattered to teachers: perspective, relationship-building and professional renewal
8. Principles at work: why shared extracurricular participation influences school culture
9. The logistics that made it feasible
10. Safety, supervision and liability: what planners handled
11. School examples and comparators: similar models nationwide
12. Potential risks and the limits of one-off events
13. Measuring impact: what to look for after the workout
14. How other schools can replicate the Staples model: a practical guide
15. Broader implications for school communities and policy
16. Stories from the field: what participants said
17. Long-term prospects and how Staples might expand the idea
18. Practical questions administrators should ask before launching
19. The cultural payoff: why small rituals build institutional resilience
20. Final reflections: what a single morning showed about community
21. FAQ

Key Highlights:

• A first-of-its-kind “Staples Teachers & Staples Football” workout drew 20 teachers to a 6 a.m. summer practice, pairing educators with players for speed drills, weightlifting and relay competitions.
• The session created informal mentorship opportunities, showcased staff athleticism, and offered a model for strengthening school culture through shared extracurricular experiences.

Introduction

On a sweltering July morning, a handful of Westport residents drove to Paul Lane Field while many of their neighbors slept. They did not come to coach. They came to sweat alongside teenagers. Twenty teachers from Staples High School answered a challenge to join the football team’s early-morning workout, trading classrooms for cones and barbells. The strangers-in-hoodies who usually meet in the hallway became teammates, trading banter at the line for side-by-side sprints on the turf.

That morning’s session resembled more than an odd photo op. It represented a deliberate effort to collapse the boundaries between faculty and students, to let teachers inhabit a setting where locker-room culture, accountability and camaraderie show up in ways that no rubric can capture. Head coach and special education teacher Matty Jacowleff organized the event with the same strategic eye he brings to the field. What began as a simple invitation—the chance for players to bring a favorite teacher—produced tangible moments: an assistant principal bench-pressing with confidence, a social studies teacher cutting through the gauntlet with the precision of a former NCAA athlete, and a PE instructor completing the workout while carrying an infant. The day ended with pancakes, laughter and a shared sense of purpose.

Beyond the warm photos and the feel-good headlines, the Staples experiment raises practical questions: Why would teachers commit precious summer hours to physical training? What did the players gain from seeing educators in an athletic role? Can other schools replicate the program without draining budgets or overburdening staff? This account reconstructs the workout, traces why it mattered, and offers a roadmap for other schools seeking to strengthen their communities through similar initiatives.

How the idea began: spotting a culture that needed widening

The seed for the teachers-and-football workout grew out of routine observation. During winter, Staples football players routinely met at 6 a.m. for weightlifting. Physical education teacher Jeff Doornweerd, not a football coach, showed up as well—spotting athletes, offering technique tips and simply being present. Players gravitated to him. Head coach Jacowleff noticed that rapport and envisioned a deliberate way for other teachers to experience the team’s culture firsthand.

Schools frequently face a subtle disconnect: students see teachers in controlled, curriculum-driven contexts while teachers see students through the lens of grades, behavior and obligation. Extracurricular settings—sports, theater, robotics—reveal different, often truer dimensions of adolescents: resilience under pressure, peer leadership, and loyalty. Jacowleff translated that insight into an experiment: invite a selection of teachers to join a workout built around what the players value. The invitation asked for little but returned much: one morning outside the classroom, a chance to watch—and participate in—the daily work that binds the team.

The initiative’s timing amplified its meaning. The workout occurred during summer vacation, when teachers could have chosen rest over returns to campus. Their willingness to show up signaled that staff commitment at Staples stretches beyond curricular duties.

The workout: structure, sequence and moments that mattered

The session followed a simple, athlete-first blueprint. Organizers prioritized movement quality and community rather than spectacle, creating a flow that teachers could follow whether they were gym veterans or novices.

• Warm-up and speed/agility drills: Players and teachers ran through acceleration drills, ladder work and short sprints designed to sharpen footwork and vestibular control. Those drills exposed teachers to the intensity of in-season preparation: runs repeated until technique became reliable, quick coaching cues shouted from the sideline, and peers correcting peers without prompting.
• Strength training in the weight room: Teachers paired with athletes for benching and spotting. Assistant principal Pat Micinilio made an impression with his bench press, demonstrating both physical strength and the willingness to test one’s limits in public. The weight-room setting gave teachers a role typically reserved for coaches: partner, spotter, motivator.
• Relay competitions and football gauntlet: The turf returned for relay races arranged as team-based contests. A Tic-Tac-Toe 40-yard relay decided the overall winner; the PE staff, led by Jeb Boyrer, captured the title. Social studies teacher Nell Ann Lynch—whose NCAA Division I volleyball background surfaced in her performance—shone in the football gauntlet, moving with poise and athletic authority.
• Family and community moment: PE teacher Jen Telford completed every station while wearing her 1-year-old son in a carrier, accompanied by her exuberant 2-year-old. The sight of children on the field joined the program to its broader community story: the next generation watching, learning and perhaps awaiting their turn.

The workout ended with breakfast. The shared meal turned the exercise into a social ritual. Players and teachers sat at the same tables, moving from competition to conversation with ease. The breakfast allowed debriefs and informal mentorship—students asked life questions, teachers asked about the season, and everyone exchanged stories.

Those transitions—from drill to lift, lift to relay, relay to pancake—crystallized the program’s dual purpose: to train bodies and to nurture relationships.

Standouts: teachers who became players, and players who became hosts

A few personalities turned ordinary moments into memorable ones, revealing the human dynamics that underpinned the event.

• Pat Micinilio (assistant principal): His bench-press performance became shorthand for faculty commitment. Micinilio’s presence combined administrative authority with physical participation, breaking the “principal-watching-from-the-office” archetype and demonstrating a willingness to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with students.
• Brendan Giolitto (English instructor): He emerged as a rallying figure, quickly assuming a captain’s role for his invited players. Giolitto’s leadership showed that teachers can translate classroom authority into team enthusiasm without diluting either role.
• Nell Ann Lynch (social studies): Lynch’s athletic past translated directly to field performance. Her smooth navigation of the gauntlet reminded players that their teachers have histories outside of campus, and those histories can command respect in different settings.
• Jen Telford (physical education): Completing the entire workout with an infant strapped to her chest created one of the session’s most human moments. Telford’s participation reframed the role of teacher-athlete-parent, signaling that caregiving and professional engagement are simultaneously possible and visible.
• Jeb Boyrer (PE teacher): His team won the Tic-Tac-Toe 40-yard relay, but more importantly, Boyrer organized players and teachers around a shared competitive goal, showing how recreational rivalry can forge bonds.
• Cardale Jones (coaching staff): Cardale Jones, the starting quarterback of Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team and a member of Staples’ coaching staff, served as an aspirational bridge between collegiate success and local mentorship. His presence lent credibility and excitement to the day.

These profiles matter because they demonstrate how a cross-section of faculty—former collegiate athletes, administrators, and physical educators—can each offer distinct contributions to a single event. The diversity of teacher roles created multiple entry points for student engagement.

Why this mattered to players: accountability, culture and visibility

Students spend more waking hours in extracurricular activities than in classrooms during the spring and fall seasons. That difference matters because the metrics of performance change. The classroom rewards completion and comprehension; the field rewards repetition, grit, and group accountability. Seeing teachers participate in those contexts recalibrates student perception in three ways.

• Visibility beyond assessment: When teachers join the team in action, they stop being figures who grade and discipline and become teammates who witness effort. That reframing reduces the transactional nature of student-teacher relationships and enhances trust.
• A shared language of standards: Athletic training communicates standards—arrive on time, hustle on reps, accept correction. Teachers who adopt those standards alongside students demonstrate a consistent set of expectations. That consistency strengthens the norms that coaches cultivate.
• Modeling vulnerability and resilience: Teachers who struggle through sprints or miss a lift model a critical leadership trait: vulnerability. Students learn that effort, not perfection, earns respect. Conversely, when teachers exhibit competence in drills, they model mastery built from practice, reinforcing the value of sustained work.

Players left the workout with more than soreness. They left with teachers who could accurately describe the noise of a practice, the cadence of a play call, and the subtle hierarchies that shape locker-room leadership. Those experiences repay themselves in the regular-season grind where culture determines outcomes as much as playbooks.

Why this mattered to teachers: perspective, relationship-building and professional renewal

Teachers gained an irreplaceable vantage point by stepping into the team's environment. Their benefits were immediate and practical.

• Firsthand understanding of athletics culture: Teachers observed the rituals and routines that solidify team identity. They saw how players hold each other accountable, the small rituals that ward off complacency, and the ways coaches reinforce behavioral expectations. That knowledge translates to better conversations in the hallway and more empathetic classroom management.
• New relationships and trust: Shared exertion accelerated trust. Conversations that might take weeks in a Monday staff meeting unfolded in a single side-by-side drill. Those contacts create channels for student support, from checking in on mental health to adjusting academic loads during competitive seasons.
• Professional energy and empathy: The physical challenge offered teachers a break from schedules and a different kind of achievement. That change of pace refreshed some educators, who returned to classrooms with renewed clarity about students’ off-hour responsibilities.

Teachers often leave school-sponsored activities to coaches. This event reversed the flow, inviting teachers into an area where they rarely tread. The result: better-informed educators and a faculty more connected to the full lives of their students.

Principles at work: why shared extracurricular participation influences school culture

The Staples workout illustrates a set of principles that apply beyond a single program.

• Rituals build identity: Rituals—like an early morning lift or a team relay—anchor identity. When faculty participate in those rituals, they help extend a team’s moral economy into the wider school community.
• Proximity fosters mentorship: Close proximity in stress-producing settings increases opportunities for organic mentorship. Teachers and students who experience challenge together create durable bonds that are hard to replicate in the classroom.
• Shared standards reduce role friction: When teachers and athletes hold each other to the same standards—arriving on time, completing assigned work, accepting corrections—conflicts over expectations in other contexts shrink. A teacher who has sweat through a conditioning drill can ask a student for the same focus required on the field with greater legitimacy.
• Visibility counters stereotypes: Students learn quickly which adults live out the values they preach. Teachers who participate visibly earn social capital that helps them influence student choices off the field.

Those principles carry forward: the workout’s immediate payoff came in stronger interpersonal ties; its long-term value will show up in team cohesion, classroom engagement and a community that interprets success as collective rather than individual.

The logistics that made it feasible

One reason the event succeeded is that organizers kept the logistical bar low and the social payoff high.

• Voluntary invitations: Each player could invite one or two favorite teachers, creating personal stakes for participation and ensuring teachers arrived with pre-existing relational anchors.
• Early start, limited duration: The 6 a.m. start meant the workout avoided the day’s heat and minimized interference with teachers’ summer plans. Keeping the session concise respected participants’ time while delivering impact.
• Inclusive activity design: Organizers mixed drills and games so teachers of different fitness levels could contribute. Relay races and gauntlets allowed teachers to pair with students in ways that emphasized teamwork over raw athletic ability.
• Post-activity socialization: Breakfast created space for conversation, ensuring the physical exertion translated into social bonding. Investing in food and time for mingling increased the event’s return on relational investment.

These operational choices make replication straightforward. Schools can scale similar events up or down depending on staffing, facilities and community appetite.

Safety, supervision and liability: what planners handled

An event that places non-athletic staff into physical exertion requires forethought. Staples mitigated risk by aligning the workout with the coaches’ standard practice plan.

• Coaching oversight: Certified coaches led drills and lifts, maintaining technique and safety standards. Teachers participated under the same supervision as athletes.
• Spotting and partner work: Weight-room exercises emphasized spotting and partner technique. Teachers worked with experienced athletes, reducing the chance of improper lifts.
• Progressive intensity: Drills began with mobility and speed work before escalating. Teachers had the option to scale back intensity and still participate meaningfully.
• Emergency preparedness: The presence of staff trained in first response—athletic trainers and coaches—reduced liability. Events led by school athletic departments typically follow existing emergency action plans, a template easily adapted for teacher-inclusive workouts.

Those safeguards allowed teachers to engage confidently. Any school considering replication must ensure its medical coverage, coaching certifications and emergency procedures meet district standards.

School examples and comparators: similar models nationwide

Events that blur the lines between faculty and extracurriculars are not unique to Staples, but the approach varies by scale and tradition.

• Teacher-coach roles: In many high schools, teachers already serve as coaches. The natural extension here is reversing the flow—coaches invite non-coaching faculty into team spaces. Where that occurs regularly, faculty presence at practices and performances serves as a continuous bond builder.
• Community engagement days: Some districts run community-engagement or "meet the teacher" sports clinics where faculty play in exhibition games or attend student shows. Those events approximate Staples’ model but often focus on spectacle rather than shared training.
• Faculty athletic challenges: In larger districts, "faculty vs. student" charity games draw crowds and highlight cross-campus camaraderie. Their charitable aims increase visibility, but they sometimes emphasize competition more than shared cultural understanding.

Staples’ strength lies in aligning the event with real practice work rather than an exhibition, which produced higher depth of understanding for teachers.

Potential risks and the limits of one-off events

A single morning can catalyze change, but it cannot replace sustained engagement. Organizers must remain mindful of potential limitations.

• Performativity risk: A one-off event risks being perceived as symbolic unless reinforced by ongoing teacher presence or follow-up activities.
• Staff fatigue and equity: Asking teachers to sacrifice vacation time can strain goodwill if the activity becomes expected rather than voluntary. Organizers must balance the cultural benefits with respect for boundaries.
• Resource allocation: Foods, supervision, and time require modest resources. As programs scale, cost and staff bandwidth can become limiting factors.
• Unequal participation: Not all teachers will feel comfortable participating; creating alternative pathways to engagement—attendance at games, mentoring roles, or attendance at film sessions—keeps the program inclusive.

Acknowledging these limits preserves the program’s integrity. When events are integrated into a broader strategy for faculty engagement, their effects compound. When they stand alone, novelty fades.

Measuring impact: what to look for after the workout

The value of such events becomes clear in subsequent months through observable shifts.

• Attendance and punctuality: Teams with strong culture often show improved practice attendance and punctuality. Teachers who participated are likely to notice fewer conflicts about training schedules when students sense accountability.
• Behavioral incidents: Teachers reporting fewer disciplinary incidents connected to team members suggests stronger peer norms. Those norms often originate in consistent group rituals.
• Academic supports and communication: Increased teacher-student communication about schedules, workloads and supports—especially during high-intensity sports seasons—indicates deeper relationships.
• Student perceptions: Surveys or focus groups can reveal whether students feel more supported by teachers and whether they view educators as invested in their broader development.

Measuring these outcomes requires modest data collection: attendance logs, anecdotal reports from coaches and teachers, and short student questionnaires can track change without heavy administrative burden.

How other schools can replicate the Staples model: a practical guide

Schools with interest and limited resources can replicate the model by following a practical sequence.

1. Start with a pilot: Choose a single team and invite a small, voluntary group of teachers. Keep expectations low and the session short.
2. Use athletes as ambassadors: Let players invite teachers. Personal invitations increase participation and reduce administrative friction.
3. Keep the session coach-led: Certified coaches should design the workout and supervise lifts and drills. That protects safety and ensures the session reflects the program’s standards.
4. Design inclusive activities: Include partner work, relay races and skill-based drills so participants of varied ability can contribute.
5. Build in social time: Food or a short debrief uncovers learning from both sides and converts physical exertion into social trust.
6. Leverage existing policies: Align the event with district liability procedures and emergency-action plans. Use existing athletic trainer coverage.
7. Document and evaluate: Collect simple metrics—attendance, teacher feedback and student perception—so you can refine the model.
8. Scale thoughtfully: If interest grows, expand to other teams or create seasonally recurring teacher workouts rather than insisting on universal participation.

Those steps keep replication manageable while maximizing cultural returns.

Broader implications for school communities and policy

The Staples initiative arrives at a moment when school communities seek deeper connecting tissue across roles. The model shows how low-cost interventions can repair fragmentation and reinforce shared norms.

• Policy alignment: School leaders can encourage cross-role participation by recognizing non-classroom contributions in professional evaluations or by offering stipends for summertime activities.
• Teacher induction and retention: For new teachers, early access to extracurricular life accelerates social integration and may influence retention. Being present at practices creates allies and mentors outside grade-level teams.
• Mental health and well-being: Informal relationships between teachers and students create additional support networks for students facing stress or crises. Teachers who know students outside of academic contexts are more likely to notice warning signs and respond.
• Community perceptions: When the wider community sees educators embedded in student life, perceptions of commitment shift. That social capital can translate into stronger booster support and volunteerism.

Policymakers and administrators should view such initiatives as lever points rather than one-off gestures. Modest investments in shared extracurricular engagement produce outsized returns in community cohesion.

Stories from the field: what participants said

Voices from the field captured the session’s tone.

Matty Jacowleff described the morning as “incredibly meaningful,” noting the teachers’ willingness to show up during summer vacation. He emphasized that teachers had the chance to "experience our players in an environment they truly love," allowing them to observe the team's culture, standards and brotherhood.

Jacowleff also reflected on the reciprocal nature of the experience: it gave teachers insight into why the program matters to players while letting players see educators demonstrate commitment beyond the classroom.

Players expressed appreciation for teachers who visited their domain in a way that felt authentic rather than performative. For many, the event humanized staff members and created starting points for conversations that later unfolded in the school year.

Teachers returned with specific stories: an assistant principal proud of his lift; an English teacher who led his team with vocal enthusiasm; a PE teacher who completed the circuit while balancing parenthood. Those small stories became the day’s currency, driving conversation long after the breakfast plates were cleared.

Long-term prospects and how Staples might expand the idea

The initial workout has momentum. Staples could build on the session by adding structured touchpoints.

• Regular teacher-lift sessions: Allow teachers who enjoyed the workout to join periodic weight-room sessions during off-season months, further normalizing faculty presence.
• Faculty participation in game-day rituals: Invite faculty to attend team captains’ meetings or post-game celebrations to sustain visibility.
• Cross-program collaborations: Replicate the model in other extracurricular realms—music, theater, debate—inviting teachers into rehearsal spaces to experience different forms of group discipline.
• Mentorship matching: Use practice-based interactions to inform mentorship pairings, connecting teachers who participated with athletes who invited them.

With institutional support, the program can evolve from a single summer morning into a durable element of school culture.

Practical questions administrators should ask before launching

Administrators considering similar programs should ask a few practical questions up front.

• What are the liability and medical coverage arrangements? Confirm athletic trainer coverage and emergency-action plans.
• How will you recruit faculty without pressuring them? Make participation voluntary and publicize the choice as optional and appreciated.
• How will you recognize teachers’ time? Consider offering professional development credit, stipends, or public recognition.
• What follow-up will solidify gains? Plan routine evaluations and follow-up events to translate novelty into habit.

Answering these questions prevents common pitfalls: staff burnout, liability oversights and fading interest.

The cultural payoff: why small rituals build institutional resilience

The most durable benefit of the workout is cultural. Institutions survive and thrive on rituals that align individual behavior with collective goals. By participating in a ritual central to the team’s identity, teachers modeled alignment, reinforcing a shared ethic across school structures. Those rituals become reference points when decisions must be made—discipline dilemmas, time-management compromises, or resource disputes. A school that has shared rituals possesses a reserve of social capital that smooths conflict and amplifies cooperation.

Staples’ teachers and players produced a small ritual that will matter not because it was dramatic, but because it was honest: people showed up to work together, accepted correction, and fed each other pancakes afterward. Those habits sustain trust.

Final reflections: what a single morning showed about community

The Staples Teachers & Staples Football workout was not a cure-all. It did not rewrite curricula or solve structural pressures facing schools. It did something subtler and harder to quantify: it moved people into the same lane and let them attend to one another without grades or agendas. Teachers who arrived as observers left as participants. Players received an unexpected affirmation: adults who judge their homework will also chase them down the field.

That mutual recognition is the core asset any school requires. Athletic fields are one setting where it emerges quickly because exertion strips away pretense. Administrators who want to build community should look for places where adults and students can meet as equals around common goals. The rest—improved communication, stronger team culture, better classroom relationships—follows.

FAQ

Q: Who organized the Staples Teachers & Staples Football workout? A: Head coach and special education teacher Matty Jacowleff conceived and organized the session after noticing the natural rapport players had developed with a physical education teacher who attended early lifts. He invited teachers to experience a typical team practice and to build similar connections.

Q: How many teachers participated and how were they chosen? A: Twenty teachers volunteered to participate. Each player could invite one or two teachers, creating direct invitations rather than broad mandates.

Q: What activities comprised the workout? A: The session included a speed and agility warm-up, weight-room lifts (with spotting), relay races on the turf—including a Tic-Tac-Toe 40-yard relay—and a football gauntlet. The workout concluded with a group breakfast.

Q: Were there safety protocols in place for non-athletic staff? A: Certified coaches led the activities and supervised the weight room and drills. Teachers worked with athletes and coaches for spotting and technique guidance. Athletic trainers and existing emergency-action plans were available to handle injuries or medical issues.

Q: What immediate benefits did the school report? A: Teachers reported deeper understanding of the team’s culture and practices, while players appreciated the presence of faculty in their domain. The event fostered informal mentorship, improved communication, and created shared memories that extended beyond the classroom.

Q: Can other schools replicate this model? A: Yes. Successful replication depends on voluntary teacher participation, coach-led safety oversight, inclusive activities that accommodate diverse fitness levels, and a brief social component such as breakfast to convert physical exertion into relational gains.

Q: Is participation mandatory for teachers? A: Participation should remain voluntary. The initial Staples event drew teachers who chose to attend during summer vacation; making attendance optional protects goodwill and prevents overreach.

Q: What are the main risks to consider? A: Risks include potential injuries if activities are unsupervised, staff fatigue if events become de facto obligations, and performative participation if initiatives are not followed up. Administrators should ensure proper supervision, maintain voluntary participation, and plan ongoing engagement.

Q: How can a school measure the program’s success? A: Track simple indicators: practice attendance, student punctuality, teacher reports of student behavior, and student surveys about faculty support. Anecdotal evidence—improved hallway interactions or teacher-student conversations—also signals impact.

Q: Did the event include coaches or outside athletes? A: The session included the Staples coaching staff and members of the team. Cardale Jones, a member of the Staples coaching staff and the starting quarterback on Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team, participated as a coach and mentor.

Q: How often should schools hold similar events? A: One impactful session can catalyze change, but repetition strengthens results. Schools can hold occasional teacher-participation workouts—seasonally or biannually—or offer periodic open-practice days for faculty to maintain connections without overtaxing staff.

Q: What else can administrators do to build similar cross-role engagement? A: Encourage faculty attendance at student events, create informal mentorship channels, offer professional recognition for extracurricular engagement, and design small, low-cost rituals that invite teachers and students to share non-classroom spaces.

Q: How did players react to teachers doing up-downs or jumping offside? A: Players used such moments to teach and cajole in good humor. Coaches reported the interactions reinforced standards and gave teachers a firsthand taste of the discipline required to maintain team norms.

Q: Who funded the event’s breakfast and minor expenses? A: The event used modest resources—breakfast and logistical support—typically covered by the school’s athletic budget or booster funds. Organizers kept costs low to make replication easy.

Q: Will Staples continue similar programs? A: The initial workout created momentum and demonstrated clear value. Staples can expand the program by scheduling follow-up sessions, involving other extracurriculars, or building teacher participation into offseason routines.