Raised as a North Penn Knight, Alex Hoffman never would have believed that one day he would be teaching on his home court.

The teacher and new tennis coach had to go through plenty of obstacles to get into the position he is in now. Hoffman continues to work towards new accomplishments each and every day.

Alex Hoffman, a current English teacher at Pennfield Middle School, waited 5 years as a substitute for a teaching position to open up. Hoffman never knew what he would be teaching each day as a substitute. Now as a teacher, he enjoys the environment and organization of a classroom because it is easier to get to know the students and make connections with different teachers.

“Teaching is more work, but it’s more rewarding work,” Hoffman elaborated.

After Hoffman’s diligent days at work, instead of going home and grading papers like previous years, Hoffman spends his afternoons teaching the girls on the JV tennis team. His goal as a coach is to build up the athlete’s tennis skills and to make sure everyone is having an enjoyable experience. Hoffman believes that every player on the team has the potential to be on varsity next year as long as they keep up the hard work and dedication.

“When I see the girls win and be so happy about it, that is exactly why I wanted to do this. It makes me so unbelievably happy to see the joy on their faces when they win a match, do something well, or take guidance and have it work,” Hoffman explained.

With Hoffman’s busy schedule, the new coach is finding different ways to balance his teaching life with his coaching life. With two major responsibilities, Hoffman’s school year has been very occupied and engaging. Every day has been very fast and productive, but at the end of the day, Hoffman is exhausted and can feel overwhelmed with stress coming from both sides of his jobs. This does not stop Hoffman from coming in every day and working as hard as he can to be the best educator that he can be.

“It’s having a slight effect but all the benefits of being here balances it out and makes it worth it,” Hoffman justified.

With Hoffman’s diligence, he has had a huge impact on his students and his team. He is looking forward to continuing his passion with coaching as he is coming to an end with the girl’s season and preparing for the boy’s team. Hoffman strives to do what he loves and make sure everyone is loving what they do.