Beerbower claps and cheers for a student as they hit a new personal record in the Upper Campus weight room. He walks over and tells them he knew they could do it.

Beerbower has been a P.E. teacher at MCHS’s Upper Campus for 24 years and runs the Strength and Conditioning program. He has been a coach for many sports, but recently he’s been coaching McHenry’s powerlifting team. Many students find him a motivating factor in the weight room to push themselves.

“I was fortunate to have some excellent P.E. teachers growing up,” Beerbower says. “When I was in high school, I had a gentleman named Gene Vidoni… and a guy named Mark Ramsey, both of them are still alive, and one of them’s still coaching.”

Beerbower was inspired by his old teachers, Gene Vidoni and Mark Ramsey, who greatly influenced him. He continues to look up to them today by motivating students and getting them through tough times.

“I was flirting with the idea of maybe doing collegiate administration because of Roger,” Beerbower says, “I’d gotten accepted at U of I and was going to go do a graduate degree up there and like, maybe sports management, to maybe think about collegiate administration.”

Beerbower’s teaching career actually originated from an old coach from college, Roger Jaleca, who he said gave him many opportunities when he didn’t need to. The whole reason he went to college for teaching was because of Jaleca.

“You have to find out what you have to get to know,” Beerbower says. “I would say it’s about relationships. You really want to get to know them, build the relationship first. But then, what you’re also trying to do is understand a little bit about who they are and what keeps them motivated.”

Beerbower says the key to motivating kids is building relationships with them to learn what motivates them, whether it’s being competitive or just getting more fit. Beerbower pushes his students to be their best, and by doing that he needs to understand how each student functions and what their motivating factor is.

“He’s motivated me a lot,” sophomore 1000 lb club member Isaac Martin says. “He’s helped me with rules and safety; form overall. He’s just helped me as a mentor.”

Martin reiterated many times on how good Beerbower is at motivating him and others. He mentioned many good qualities of Beerbower’s, including being good with names, making sure you feel connected with him and being an overall good teacher.

“He’s always there to talk to someone,” Martin says. “boost them, give them a little ‘you’re here for a reason.’”

Beerbower gives all of his students purpose in the weight room no matter who they are. His motivational comments and full speeches help students reach their personal goals with ease.

The period ends and the student walks out of the weight room proud after they hit their new personal record. Beerbower is even more proud that his student succeeded because not only is he proud of their growth, but he knows he was a contributing factor in his student’s accomplishments.