For Edison High School’s track coach, track is not just a sport. It is a combination of relationships with the track team, a passion that extends from his youth, and something he hopes to continue coaching even after his time at Edison High School.
Mr. John Krajunus, the computer science teacher, has coached the track team since 2017. His interest in coaching stems back to his youth, with his father being a coach. Watching his father while he grew up, Krajunus naturally gravitated towards coaching as he began his teaching career. His father, brother, and he himself taught youth leagues in his town. After coaching at a high school level, he knew it was something he was truly excited and passionate about.
Not only did his coaching interest stem from his family, but Krajunus, himself, was an athlete in college.
“I also competed at Monmouth in college, and then when I started teaching, it was something that I knew I’d like to do,” said Krajunus.
During his time at Monmouth University, Krajunus would return to his local high school to help out the teams. He also knew that he liked math and sports, but wasn’t so sure about what he would do after graduating. Because of his love for sports, he decided to go into coaching.
With teaching a computer science elective and coaching the track team on his plate, Krajunus admits that balancing teaching and athletics can be hard at times. He puts a lot of time into coaching and sees that it takes up a lot more of his time than teaching does. However, he realizes that the time it takes to coach is also where the most meaningful relationships form. Krajunus balances teaching and coaching by using his time wisely. Whenever he gets free time, he makes sure that he puts his efforts into his classroom first.
“Then, there’s so much extra stuff that comes on with the coaching,” said Krajunus, “stuff that is very important and allows me to kind of interact with students and athletes.”
His structure for coaching and teaching also resonates with each other. By setting expectations to a certain standard, he is able to hold his students to the best they can be, without overloading them.
“But luckily, being an elective, I think that kind of makes it a lot easier to hold that expectation, because all the students chose to be here, just like people chose to be at track, so I can definitely hold them at a higher expectation level, because they want to be there.”
His philosophy for coaching is rooted in the idea that setting standards and holding them allows the athletes to flourish. “I think anyone can coach,” said Krajunus.
“There’s so much knowledge out there now with YouTube, and different online availability just for you to look things up,” he said, “but I really think it’s the way you run and the expectations that you set that allow a team to be built and become successful.”
Even with expectations set high, Krajunus values the fun and enjoyment in the sport that encourages students to come back next year. This ideology also came from his past coaches and the relationships he formed with them during his years as an athlete at Monmouth College.
In the future, Krajunus aspires to continue coaching, whether that will be coaching for his kids or continuing his time in Edison. Although he puts in around twenty hours a week in coaching, Krajunus knows that the time he spends with the track team is how meaningful coach-to-athlete relationships are built, allowing for a successful track team that has now made it to GMCs.
“I build better relationships with my athletes than some of my classes because of the amount of time you get together and how it kind of pushes them to get better, and they see the results day in and day out,” he said. “I definitely see little valleys here and there in their performances, but when they’re having fun, enjoying themselves, and have a good atmosphere, then they usually perform even better.”
