Instead of heading home after a long day at CESJDS, middle school history teacher Matthew Jacobson stays on campus to coach. Jacobson grew up surrounded by sports–playing and watching–but felt that he was never really good at them. He had the sports strategy and knowledge down and figured that if he wanted to stay in the game, he should get into coaching. Jacobson is now known as Coach Jacobson to many students in the middle and high school, although he has also been a teacher for five years.
Jacobson was hired to teach at JDS in 2019. At the time, he was coaching football at Walter Johnson High School (WJ) and was getting ready to begin coaching middle school baseball at JDS as the assistant coach. However, the 2020 and 2021 seasons never occurred due to COVID-19.
The following season Jacobson was offered the head coach position for JDS middle school baseball, which he instantly accepted. According to Jacobson, middle school baseball is his Jacobson’s favorite team he’s ever coached because in his first year being a head coach, the team went on to win the Potomac Valley Athletics Conference championship.
“[Coaching] really provides me with an opportunity to get to know kids that I teach in kind of a different light, different environment, particularly as a head coach of the middle school baseball team,” Jacobson said. “It gives me an opportunity to really have a direct hand in the development of not just athletes, but of young men as well.”
In the 2023-24 school year, Jacobson accepted the role of the head coach of the middle school boys soccer team because he was no longer coaching football at WJ. Later in the winter, he was offered the assistant coach position for the junior varsity boys basketball team. Although he had never coached soccer or basketball, he accepted both offers.
Jacobson’s role as Walter Johnson JV football team’s offensive coordinator became too much for him because he was balancing his busy teaching schedule with a football schedule. He will be returning next season as the Walter Johnson’s varsity quarterback and wide receiver coach, and is excited to focus on the positions that really got him interested in coaching the sport.
Sophomore Noah Sacks was on Jacobson’s championship baseball team as a starter and key pitcher. He was a captain on the team in eighth grade and was also on the JV basketball team this past year.
“He did a really good job [coaching] and he definitely improved as the years went on, and it was good that as we were growing as players he was growing as a coach,” Sacks said.
Jacobson has developed key relationships with his players including eigth grade student AJ Salz, his captain for his middle school baseball team. This past year Salz says he was able to learn from his coach on how to be a better leader as a captain.
“Having a younger coach is really nice, because he connects and relates to you more, so it’s been really fun,” Salz said. “In terms of learning about the game he’s given some good advice.”
Jacobson has felt that coaching at JDS has really given him an opportunity to develop a direct hand in the students’ development as athletes, but also as young individuals. He feels that he really has a chance to get to help kids in a different environment from just the classroom.
“Teaching and coaching really do go hand in hand and I write lesson plans, I deliver lesson plans, just like I write practice plans and deliver those practice plans,” Jacobson said. “The ultimate goal is that when we send you guys out of here in February of your senior year, that not only have you learned things in the classroom, but you’ve learned how to be good people. And I think sports are one of the best vehicles to help form young people into good people.”