A Guest Speaker attended this morning’s Bison Breakfast to give a Special Message. The Guest speaker was Activities Director Tom Bauman’s father, Al Bauman. He was asked to attend to the last Bison Breakfast of the year to make sure students got his message before the year was over.
“When I was young and watching a basketball game, I would coach the game and play the game while watching it,” said Bauman. “ I now see kids in so many activities, they probably don’t watch, play, and react to the game as much as I did as a kid. I wanted to teach kids how to read and react to the game and to never live in the past. That was my main point to give to the kids.”
Al Bauman was elected into the High School Coaches Hall of Fame and Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. He gave the Bison Breakfast crew on how he made it into the hall of fame and what it took to get there.
“ Goals. My Senior year of college I figured my competition was over and I wanted to make sure that going into the coaching field I would be able to help not just students but coaches to be the best and achieve their goals,” said Bauman. “In 7th and 8th grade I really realized my goals and that I wanted to achieve them. I wanted to be a Math Teacher and a Coach. I was surely was honored and it was a very big honor to be in the High School Coaches Hall of Fame. I was President of Basketball association and there was things in the 10 year program that help me want to go out in society and make a difference.”
Students that have had him as a teacher still come up to him when they see him to give him hugs. When he had a heart attack in 2009-2010 school year the Boys’ 9th grade basketball team sent him a card to wish him get well.
“Everyone of the kids called me to make sure I was alright it was very comforting,” said Bauman.” I still get hugs from the students I taught in Math class. I coached this game vs. St. Cloud Tech that went into 8 overtimes, it got done at 10pm. The game was 3 ½ hours long. I still have kids talking about that game.”
He went to college and found his dream, and now he inspires kids to follow theirs.
“ What I learned from my senior year in college was to never look back on the past,” said Bauman. “And never give up on a dream.”
By Leah Mussell
