Everyone in Dover High School will have at least one encounter with this man. He might be Coach Wade to his players, but many know him as Mr. Wade, a history savant and infamous AP US History teacher. Mr. Wade has taught and coached varsity boys soccer since his arrival in our small town of Dover, Ohio, in 2021.
Before his working status at dear old Dover High, Mr. Wade attended Marlington High School, where he received a high school diploma in 2015. He continued his education at the University of Akron, graduating in 2019. Nearly halfway through his junior year of college, where the weather was chilly and snow frosted the ground, he decided his actual future did not lie in becoming a lawyer. Mr. Wade had worked at a law firm in the bustling downtown area of Akron when he realized he had merely been going through the motions to become a lawyer. His dreams were not set on long hours in the office pouring over legal files, or days spent in the courtroom. While lawyers can positively impact people’s lives, Mr. Wade veered off his chosen path and set his sights on teaching. Now, he has the opportunity to change the course of his students’ paths much sooner in life and impact their adult lives for many years afterward.
As a child, Mr. Wade was often seen in toddler cleats sprinting around a grassy field at the age of three, where he discovered his true love of soccer. This adoration for the sport carried over into his teenage years when he played on the varsity team for his high school for three years. He fondly remembers his passion for offensive positions, though he most enjoyed playing winger because, as Mr. Wade says, “Out in the wing, you get this freedom to attack, set up assists, and everything like that.” As Mr. Wade pondered upon his favorite coaching memory at Dover, winning the District Championship in 2021 shines most brightly amongst the memories.
His favorite part of coaching has been the foundation of trust he has built with the soccer community. This has aided him in building relationships with the players, coaches, and families throughout the years as he helps every single player realize their love for soccer. One of the only things that disappoints Mr. Wade as a coach is the lack of joy or love in a player’s eyes when playing soccer. He hopes every player has renewed vigor when stepping onto the practice or game field. He strives for every player to be impassioned for the sport and always to be doing something they love when playing soccer.
Delving into Mr. Wade’s educational prowess and coaching history would be linear without his background knowledge as a person. What makes players and students feel most comfortable with their teachers and coaches are the crumbs of information on their lives outside of teaching and coaching. Upcoming freshmen would not be aware of his love for The Office without looking at his wall tapestry of Michael Scott which is hung in his classroom. He recalls his favorite movie being The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. While he says his favorite food is a bacon cheeseburger at an unidentified restaurant, he can often be seen at Yoder’s Hometown Market for random snacks to hold him over during his school day.
The blending of ombre of pink, violet, red, and burnt orange, as yellow slowly brushes together to form a perfect sunset or sunrise, describes his favorite color. Mr. Wade prefers the company of dogs who greet him happily with wagging tails and excited barks as well as slobbery kisses to the face much over the tense interaction with the feline sort of creatures known as cats. He can be seen listening to classic rock or 2010s rap; however, he hastily threw in his enjoyment of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. When asked the burning question of Taylor Swift or Kanye, he murmured his assent with Taylor Swift enthusiasts. Yet, you probably won’t find him jamming out to Folklore during the school day.
While Mr. Wade was most likely not named after his favorite president, Theodore Roosevelt, he does share a namesake with him for his middle name is, indeed, Theodore. He could be found potentially thumbing through The Alchemist by Paul Coelho for an enjoyable reread of his favorite book. While the answer was obvious, Mr. Wade only allowed our assumptions to be correct when wondering what his favorite movie released on July 21st, 2023, was Barbie or Oppenheimer. With astounding confidence, he chose Oppenheimer as everyone could have assumed.
Having dinner with your parents may make many teenagers roll their eyes, but Mr. Wade chose to have dinner with his parents when asked whom he would have dinner with if he could eat with anyone. He wants to assure everyone that his parents were the choice for a dinner with living people. However, he slightly broke the rules as he picked more than one person and had numerous answers. Amelia Earhart or Abraham Lincoln would have been the special guest for dinner with anyone who had already passed.
Mr. Wade is a man who wears many hats. He is the head coach for the boy’s soccer team, the advisor for Mock Trial, and is infamous for his skill at preparing students for their APUSH exam in May. As a past student, I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to be taught by him and to have had him as an advisor for Mock Trial. I am thrilled for any students or players who will have him as their teacher or coach, and I hope everyone learned something substantial about the man who has revolutionized both the teaching of American History across the second-floor history wing as well as the coach who led his boys to the District Championship in 2021. Enjoy your time with him as a teacher, and don’t forget to bug him many times once you advance to government in your junior year.
