Mr. Richard DeFronzo, a long-time Birmingham social studies teacher, has taken on the additional role of being the boys and girls golf coach. DeFronzo has taught at Birmingham for the last 15 years, teaching Government, Economics, U.S. History (Regular and Honors), World History, AP Government, AP U.S. History, and AP Art History.
DeFronzo has been working here at Birmingham and teaching all of those subjects, but his interest in this position got its spark six years ago. He explained that his expertise comes from his experience of playing golf for over 38 years in multiple countries. He said, “It’s been a passion my entire adult life.”
This makes clear why he took the place of the retiring coach, Mr. Kevin Kelly. Speaking with him throughout the interview showed that he doesn’t just like the sport, but shows true passion and interest in golf. According to DeFronzo, his interest in golf is “the physical and mental state you need to be successful in the game.” This also describes what DeFronzo is going to bring this season to the golf team with his inspiring mindset as he teaches golf.
For the team, he expects “a growth in the mental mindset and in skill acquisition.” This demonstrates that he expects the players to develop more than just physical improvement, but also mental improvement. Usually, a lot more physical improvement is an expectation in sports, but DeFronzo seems to want mental growth as well. If they practice four times a week at the Van Nuys Golf Course and have a match every Wednesday in the Valley Golf League, they’ll accomplish what DeFronzo stated. DeFronzo also hopes to lead the team to be competitive against other schools in the valley.
DeFronzo wants to motivate his team by having them grow a passion for golf –not just having them play and grow technique but actually having a love for the sport. DeFronzo said, “Success will manifest in many ways and success will show in their motivation.”
This is also another one of his goals where he wants to grow the team and grow the interest in golf. At the end of the interview, he added that boys’ golf tryouts are scheduled for November.
