Do you ever catch yourself wondering who someone really is at BAVPA? Wonder no longer! Senior Theatre major Joy Perry is on a mission to interview students, staff, administrators and faculty at Performing Arts so you can stay in the know.
Joy
Hi, my name is Joy, and I am here with Mrs. Rogers. So, Mrs. Rogers, can you please tell me what you do?
Mrs. Rogers
I am a health and physical education teacher here at Performing Arts, and I also coach volleyball and basketball.
Joy
So, what inspired you to be what you do now?
Mrs. Rogers
Originally, when I went to college, I was hoping to play professional sports, and it worked out for a little bit, but there was no money in women's sports back in the 90s, so I used my degree. I really thought I was gonna be the greatest Phys Ed teacher ever, but I noticed that I really love teaching kids health, and I prefer that more than anything.
Joy
Okay, so if you could train with any athlete, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Mrs. Rogers
Wow. As an athlete, that's a tough question because there's so many that I could respect. My favorite athlete is probably Ronnie Lott, and he's a famous secondary player in the Hall of Fame. He played on a bunch of teams, but he was hardcore. He hit hard, he loved the game, he trained hard, and he was well respected by his peers. Other people that I admire are Cal Ripken. I admire a lot of the WNBA stars because they had to go through the ranks. And my favorite soccer player because I was a semi pro soccer player was Mia Hamm. And she was a great role model for young girls and athletes, and she played the sport at a time when there was not a lot of money compared to what they do today.
Joy
So you’re saying that women's sports get more viewership now than it did before?
Mrs. Rogers
Absolutely. We have really good NCAA programs, and it's new and it's fresh. And sometimes the boys' sports get boring because we've seen it all. And then you have personalities like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and Dawn Staley, who are women; and strong women and kids gravitate towards them. Megan Rapinoe and Trinity Rodman just to name a few. We're seeing more ethnic races and diversity going on in our country, and we start to relate with these people because we are just like them. We're different. And we were waiting for that person to become a part of professional sports, and now we have that. We have an identity.
Joy
But weren’t there at least some women sports back then that were popular. Like women’s gymnastics were more popular than men’s gymnastics, right?
Mrs. Rogers
Yes. But it was only certain sports. Gymnastics is still big, but now men's gymnastics are getting big because they've got some pretty cool personalities. We're seeing, like a difference in sports. We're gravitating from traditional sports. And now you see we had breakdancing. So the girl from Australia is like, that's not breakdancing. But it was neat to see different things. And BMX bike riding and, you know, we're always looking to throw in something new and refreshing. And unfortunately, we dropped women's softball and men's baseball. And they realized in America, women's softball's pretty big. We want it back.
Joy
Right.
Mrs. Rogers
You know, in Japan too.
Joy
Ok, interesting. Next question, what are some effective ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
Mrs. Rogers
The first and foremost is to get yourself right mentally. If you have a good frame of mind, you can take your body from where it is to where you want to go. We all talk about eating healthy and exercising, but if your mind's not there and you don't know how to get your mind there to get the motivation to do it, it's not going to happen. Having a good support system. I'm 50. I can't ask a lot of my friends, hey, you want to go to the gym? Because we're old. But you guys have an opportunity. You have friends. You know, there's so many different activities. And I know a lot of people say, oh, yoga is for older people. You'll see a lot of young people do it too, because it's good for their mind. But get your mind right and then the body will follow.
Joy
That is true. So just two more questions.
Mrs. Rogers
Lay it on me!
Joy
What role do you believe extracurricular sports play in a student's life?
Mrs. Rogers
If the opportunities are there, kids should take it. Unfortunately, we don't see kids getting involved. It's hard because there may not be transportation. There may not be a parent that can come pick them up or get them there. They may not have the money to get involved in extracurricular sports. So we also know that in the city of Buffalo here, a lot of our food choices are income driven. If we can't afford good food, we gravitate towards the cheap. Not so healthy stuff
Joy
Yeah.
Mrs. Rogers
Some things we just can't afford, so we don't get involved. You know, some sports are expensive, but it gives kids an outlet. It gives them an outlet mentally to partake in something. I think it's also good because sports are a microcosm of life. You're gonna have to work with people. You're gonna have to get along with people. If there's people that you don't get along with at your job or on your sports team, how do you address that and coexist peacefully? So they're excellent for kids if they're afforded the opportunity. Sometimes we don't have enough adults willing to take on these opportunities because sometimes it's all about the payment. They're missing out on things. But as you look, some fire departments are volunteering. People love to do it. I coach youth sports in the summertime as a volunteer. I've never gotten paid. I just love to do it and see kids, have fun and be happy.
Joy
Wait, what do you do over the summer?
Mrs. Rogers
I am a softball coach.
Joy
Oh okay.
Mrs. Rogers
So I've been doing that with my daughter for 10 years.
Joy
Just one last question. If you could choose a workout song to play for the rest of the year, what would it be?
Mrs. Rogers
Oh, good Lord. I listen to so much different music. That's a tough question. All right, something that’s gonna get me pumped up, so it's gotta have a good beat to it. So I'm thinking we're gonna go hip hop, but not too girly. I need it to kind of have an edge to it to get me gritty, and maybe I'll go old school. So, like, maybe. Joe Budden.
Joy
Joe Budden?
Mrs. Rogers
Joe Budden. Pump it up.
Joy
I don't know who that is.
Mrs. Rogers
Joe Budden. Look it up.
Joy
Okay, I will. Thank you so much for talking with me!
Mrs. Rogers
You're welcome.
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