Teams 
The Philadelphia Phillies, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News have teamed up to say "thank you" to great educators in the region who are making a difference with our 11th annual Teacher All-Star contest presented by GDF Suez. The Delaware Valley 2011 Teacher All-Star contest asked students and adults to nominate teachers who had had an impact on their lives. They were asked to nominate a favorite teacher, past or present, who:
The response to this year's contest was overwhelming. We received more than 2,500 nominations of great teachers doing amazing and memorable things. Some letters made us laugh, others made us cry, but all touched our hearts. Judging these amazing letters was an enormous challenge, but the experience was tremendously rewarding.
In this special supplement you will meet the 10 Delaware Valley Teacher All-Stars for 2011, plus a number of teachers whose efforts merited Honorable Mentions. This section is a special thank you for their efforts and for the thousands of people who have chosen to teach our children. The winning teachers are being honored during May 6's Teacher Appreciation Night Phillies game.
Like you, the Phillies players had favorite teachers in school. In 2008 we created the Phillies Favorite Teacher Award to honor one of our players' favorite teachers. This year we are honoring Eric Coble, Brad Lidge's favorite teacher!
While attending Cherry Creek High School in Denver, Colorado Brad had Eric Coble for World History in 10th grade and U.S. National Security Policy in 12th grade. We asked both Brad and Eric questions about their experiences as student and teacher.
Brad selected you as his favorite teacher and says that you inspired him to further pursue his studies. What does this selection mean to you?
My first reaction was one of great surprise followed by deep gratitude. A teacher's students are not only the most discerning critics but also the most generous with their praise if they believe you have done a good job in the classroom. It was never really my hope that later in their lives, any of my students would remember all the subject matter I tried to cram down their throats in class. But I did want to make social science and history interesting enough to convince them to go onto college and continue to explore their intellectual side because they had discovered in a high school class that academics could be fascinating. After teaching school for thirty years, I must confess, however, that it still amazes me when I evidently hit what I was aiming for with at least a few students. To have achieved that with Brad, or with any student, is the greatest reward a teacher can experience.
As a student, Brad was what could best be described as an "easy-going" perfectionist. He had a dry sense of humor and always appeared calm, cool and collected. But beneath that relaxed exterior was a first-rate academic mind and unwavering determination to always excel. He was consistent, never writing a paper or an essay exam that was less than his absolute best performance, which was, inevitably, as near to perfect as one can come. He easily grasped the most complicated details of any complex policy crisis. His policy positions in his papers, essay exams and classroom discussion were always sophisticated, realistic and concise. (If he hadn't gone into baseball, America could certainly have used him in the State Department or on the National Security Council just as much as on the mound.) Finally, he had a laser-like intensity and focus on whatever he did in the classroom. There was this drive to get it right, to analyze the crisis at hand seriously and in detail. He was, quite simply, a fierce competitor. Not to achieve the most, to give less than his all on an assignment, was simply not an option for Brad.
When I watch Brad pitch, I know I am witnessing something one rarely sees in a lifetime--a quintessential professional. He always behaves as a true sportsman. I can think of no better example for all young men and women to emulate. And to think, he once sat in my classroom, about to make a point in a debate about international politics--intense, always analyzing his opponent, searching for weaknesses, ready to strike with a winning argument.
Eric Coble was easy for me to select as my favorite teacher. I have had inspirational teachers in varying capacities over the years, but Eric made an impact that endured far beyond the time I spent in his classes. I had no idea that World History and current politics were a subject matter that I was passionate for. To not just teach, but bring out a real desire to learn more beyond the classroom is a gift that Eric has given not just me but many others who had the privilege of learning from him. There was an intensity that came with his teachings that other teachers simply don't have. I love the intensity that comes with my job on the baseball field, and I felt this same passion and intensity with Eric. Even non-interested high school kids had to respect his knowledge of the subject matter and his ability to present it in a manner than forced us to engage.
He is still impacting my studies. As many people know, I am continuing to make strides toward my second degree in Religious studies. My desire to understand world history and the events that shaped our globe are directly linked to the history of religion. I first learned all about those events in epic detail from Eric. I plan on continuing to pursue a Master's degree in Religious Archaeology, or early European Archaeology when I am no longer playing baseball.
As I mentioned earlier, I believe I would have gone into the field of World History, and as I am currently trying to do, move into religious studies and archaeology. Perhaps I would have taught. I remember studying for Eric Coble's tests by trying to teach the material to my friends from Eric's class, we all had a great time and they told me I should teach when I get older! I might still do that, but in the mean time I am living my dream on the baseball field.
