Athlete to coach, and so much more

If you attend Armijo or see kids with Leadership shirts around campus, they are led by one man. He is the leader of the leadership events, coach of the Armijo baseball team, math teacher, and much more. He is Mr. Casey Towner.

Mr. Towner comes from a long line of Armijo graduates, dating back to before his grandparents, and he has continued the tradition of being at Armijo like his family has before him.

This time of year can be a challenge with all of those roles. Leadership is wrapping things up, students and teachers are preparing for finals and coaching is not easy, even for a teacher like Coach Towner. However, having done it for such a long time, the experience builds up. “Coaching baseball is hard, because there are not enough coaches at the younger level to teach the basics,” he said. “It’s a bit of a lost art.”

When someone finds the love for something they enjoy, they will stick with it because it is their passion. Coach Towner coaching baseball for five years and it has become part of his identity. “I played baseball my whole youth life until I was 19. I also played football here at Armijo, too,” he said

Coach Towner enjoys coaching because of the competitive part of it. In his free time he enjoys watching sports, including baseball, football, and basketball, to learn and pass more knowledge to his team.

When the pandemic resulted in a shut-down of the baseball season, it caused additional challenges. “COVID absolutely shut us down for an entire year, and set back any kids abilities,” said Coach Towner. “It was outstanding to get back.”

Pandemics are not the only thing that might keep a player from the field or the court. Injuries, age, or just finding that others are surpassing them in athletic talent can cause a person to step away from the sport. While not all athletes can continue in college and beyond, that doesn’t mean that they have to be sidelined. “I think that any students, that find the end of their athletic careers should go into coaching, to pass along the knowledge they have accumulated,” Coach Towner said.

Even those who have never played the sport can follow the team year after year on Instagram. All they have to do is check out their page @armijobaseball. Most likely, they’ll see news from and about Coach Towner regularly for the next several years.