The man above all others, because of his influence on my life, is my father. It's so special to me that it's hard to put it into words. My father is the one who let me know in my heart as early as seventh grade, maybe even earlier, that one day I wanted to teach and that I wanted to coach. My father was a fifth and sixth grade teacher for 23 years. In recent years he has coached track and field, softball, volleyball and my favorite sport, basketball. I think I probably had a basketball in my hands when I was born! My sisters and I went to games with him on the bus with their crazy driver, Mr. Krueger. The team members always welcomed us and we had a lot of fun. My father always said as Mr. Krueger wildly rounded another corner, "don't tell your mother about his driving!" As we got older, my sister Erin, who is a year younger than me, and I went to practice with my dad's team, both the girls' and boys' teams, if they needed extra players. I met many people this way and sometimes, when I went to school with my father for a day, I attended classes with some of my new friends. One t...... middle of paper...... grew up in California and moved to Milwaukee after, at the age of eleven, his parents and two sisters died in a car accident. I admire him for the person he has become in his life and the difficulties he has overcome. I can talk to my father almost better than anyone. We started cycling about 5 years ago, just the two of us, and I think this time helped me see the man that so many people respect and admire, the man that is my father. I admire him greatly and will always look to him for guidance throughout my career as a teacher and coach.