Clarke Central High School Class of 2020 alumna Katherine Sartain, CCHS head varsity softball coach William Lance and Class of 2020 alumna Senorra Baldwin (left to right) celebrate Senior Night on Sept. 25, 2019 for the 2019 softball season. Lance, who is one year away from being the longest-running softball head coach in CCHS history, has taken the past 5 years as an opportunity to reflect on the impact he’s made. “I love every second of it,” Lance said. ‘I love every second I’ve been able to teach, be a mentor, (a) coach. Being an advocate for kids, it’s just really enjoyable and seeing seeing kids grow maturely, mentally and physically and all that just puts a smile on my face.” Photo by Natalie Pierce
Head softball coach William Lance reflects on the wisdom he’s acquired from ‘being around the block,’ and how he uses it to make an impact at CCHS.
Digital Staffer Jesse Dantzler: You’ve been with Clarke Central High School for five years. Can you comment on the relationship you’ve formed with the student body?
Head varsity softball coach and physical education department teacher Coach William Lance: (For) five years, (I’ve) served all types of students. Getting to work with them has been very rewarding, and it can be challenging at times, because you always have to think outside the box to help them learn. Then I switched over to Health and PE, so I’ve got to meet every freshman in the school building this year, which has been awesome.
JD:You’ve established a style of teaching that resonates with the students. Can you tell me why you think it works?
WL: (My style of teaching) is outside the traditional lesson-planning and teaching structure. I didn’t go to school to be a teacher, so I think outside the box when it comes to, maybe, delivering a lesson or how I interact with students. I think that’s helped me build strong relationships.
JD: Where exactly did this style of teaching originate?
WL: I naturally hated school. I didn’t want to do it. I would put in the bare minimum to get A’s and B’s. All I wanted to do was hang out with friends and play sports. But there (were) teachers that went about teaching not in a traditional sense of, they’re going to lecture and then you’re going to raise their hand and answer questions. A lot of the teachers that I liked, (they) really drove conversations and really pushed me to actually try, because they saw that I was capable of more than what I was giving them. They were entertaining, they were funny, they knew when we needed to work, but they also could realize when we were just burned-out (and) pivot on their lesson plans. It just was real free-flowing, and it felt like we had a say in what we were learning in the curriculum. I gravitated towards those teachers.
“A lot of the teachers that I liked, (they) really drove conversations and really pushed me to actually try, because they saw that I was capable of more than what I was giving them. They were entertaining, they were funny, they knew when we needed to work, but they also could realize when we were just burned-out (and) pivot on their lesson plans. It just was real free-flowing, and it felt like we had a say in what we were learning in the curriculum.”
— William Lance,
Head varsity softball coach and physical education department teacher
JD: So you hated school, yet you still went to college. Why?
WL:I just wanted to graduate as fast as I could. I made a promise to my mom, she had (given) me her blessing to join the Marine Corps (if) I would finish college for her. So I went in there and I took one criminal justice elective class. And when I talked to my advisor to declare a major, I said, ‘What’s the fastest way of getting me out of here?’ And she said, ‘Well, you’ve taken one criminal justice class. So that’s technically (the fastest).’ My mom was (also) in the criminal justice field, so it kind of just made sense. I did that and I ended up really falling in love with it. College (was) enjoyable once I got into that major.
JD: How’d you go from majoring in criminal justice to being a softball coach at CCHS?
WL: (After college), I (was) a store manager at a tire shop in Watkinsville. I got a phone call from the head baseball coach at (Oconee County High School), (he) asked me if I wanted to coach so I said yes. I did that for two to three years, I can’t remember exactly, then I decided that if I was going to coach, I would want to do it back where I played, in my community. So I reached out to Clarke Central.The head coach at the time, told me he thought I should be a teacher (as well). I went in (to the special education department) and ended up coaching, and (I) really enjoyed being in the school building. So I decided to go after a teaching certificate.
JD: Considering the fact that you hated school, how did you react to being told you’d be a good teacher?
WL: It (was) kind of hard, because I’ve heard it from former teachers that they thought I’d end up in that profession and I told ‘em, ‘No way!’ But once I got on that baseball field, being around (the) kids, I felt like I had a lot to offer, and not just in sports, but with life and being a mentor, and being somebody that’s been around the block. So (then) I was like, ‘You know, maybe you’re right.’ It took me a while to learn (how to teach). (It took a) couple more months to really buy into giving it a shot, but I’m thankful that I did.
JD: Can you further elaborate on your approach to teaching?
WL: I try to be as social as possible, but outside of school, I genuinely don’t really want to talk to many people. So I can understand that (point of view). I try to identify kids that don’t talk to other students that much, or (don’t) feel included. I try to identify them early on in my classroom and make sure that I’m trying to get a little bit each day out of them. I make a joke with them. A lot of the time, they start answering questions with one word, then we start building up to two, four sentences, and then a topic of their choice and then stuff like that. I just try to get a little bit out of them, and (I) don’t force it, don’t force conversations, don’t force relationships. They tend to blossom over time.
JD: What would you say to anyone, be it a student, teacher, or admin, who struggles with forming deeper relations with others?
WL: I think you just got to be relatable, and vulnerable. I think kids see right through if you’re being fake or you’re trying to portray an image of yourself that you’re truly not. So I just tried to be myself through and through, and also remember how I was in high school – growing up, my personality, and I remember (my) teachers’ personality, who I gravitated towards. I try to model that and always remember (to) just (be) true to (myself). Kids generally respond pretty well to that.
Photo mosaic by: Jesse Dantzler @ Mosaically
A photo mosaic displays head varsity softball coach William Lance and various softball players, combined to form a larger photo of Lance. One year away from becoming CCHS’ longest-tenured head softball coach, Lance has worked to create a sense of community within the team. “The bigger picture is that (softball) is team-over-me. There’s a common goal – we want to win, we want to grow, we want to be successful young ladies in the classroom (and) outside the classroom,” Lance said. “We want to be strong physically, be strong mentally. (We want to) get rid of the individual mindset of ‘It’s about me,’ (and establish an) ‘It’s more about (the) team’ philosophy.” Photos from the ODYSSEY archives, mosaic by Jesse Dantzler
JD: How have you used this approach towards teaching with the softball team?
WL:I’ve been their biggest advocate. We got a locker room for them. I’m one year away from being the longest-reigning head coach, as far as tenure goes. I’ve been there for a while now, and I’ve built relationships with them, built trust with them, and that’s helped me push them to see a bigger picture, (to) not just think of softball as just something you do because you’re bored, but something that (you really) want to do and compete in.
JD: What’s the bigger picture that you want them to see?
WL: The bigger picture is that (softball) is team-over-me. There’s a common goal – we want to win, we want to grow, we want to be successful young ladies in the classroom (and) outside the classroom. We want to be strong physically, be strong mentally. (We want to) get rid of the individual mindset of ‘It’s about me,’ (and establish an) ‘It’s more about (the) team’ philosophy.
JD: Where are you going to take this approach in the future?
WL: Maybe (I’ll move) into administration, maybe (I’ll be a) behavioral interventionist. I don’t really know right now because I’m new enough in my position as a Health and PE teacher that I enjoy (my position), but I know at some point, I’m probably going to want more. I want to reach more kids, and maybe shape policies in the school, or just to kind of help and influence (the) kids and be a mentor on a bigger scale. I don’t really know yet, and so I’m just gonna have to see where things take me. When it hits me, I’ll know and I’ll follow it when it does.
