Samuel Styler has been a social studies teacher and football coach at Riverside Brookfield High School since 2016 but has recently been appointed the position of varsity football head coach. His previous experience with football made him a qualified coach for the position.

Originally wanting to be a lawyer, Styler switched career paths at the University of Iowa soon after starting college. Once he finished college, an opportunity to be a student teacher opened up at RB and he has been part of the school ever since. He currently teaches AP US History and AP government classes for juniors and seniors.

“I realized that I just loved history and loved being around kids a bunch. So like my summer jobs would always be a camp counselor or coaching. So I realized pretty early on that getting into teaching would be something that I would really love to do,” Styler said.

Along with working with kids, Styler also participated in playing football throughout his life. During senior year of college he became a linebackers coach which spurred him to pursue coaching later on. Once he arrived at RBHS, Styler wasted no time joining the football coaching team as it was something he was passionate about.

“The best part about being a coach is just building relationships with your players, being able to see guys out there doing stuff that they love…being able to build relationships throughout their career is something that I love,” Styler said.

Due to his previous experience as a football coach and teacher at RB, Styler has formed relationships with many of his players. Having taught all grade levels at one point, many students have interacted with him in the classroom. However, he stressed the importance of connecting with players outside of the learning environment.

“Sometimes in school obviously it feels like you’re not really seeing kids in their true environment that they really thrive in. Out there, they truly want to be there, they truly want to work hard, they truly want to be part of something bigger than themselves,” Styler said.

Although Styler is working in the same program, the responsibilities of a varsity head coach are increased than those of an assistant coach. There are a lot of small day-to-day tasks that Styler is now in charge of along with the major coaching duties.

“[I’m] always trying to make sure that not only the varsity level is prepared but that the other levels are taken care of. A lot of people always just look at what happens on Friday night and don’t really understand that we’ve been working since November to get to where we are today,” Styler said.

Overall, Styler is excited for the new season as he works towards the goals he has set for himself and the team.

“[Our goals are to] definitely make the playoffs, that’s always a huge goal and just get our program moving in the right direction, laying the foundation that the rest of the program and the lower levels can all start buying into,” Styler said.