You’re used to seeing AFC Mobile goalkeeper Brent Grube cutting down angles in his penalty box, but off the pitch, the Mobile net-minder spends his days teaching about them as a 10th grade geometry teacher at Mary G. Montgomery High School.
Grube knew he wanted to be a teacher as early as his 9th grade year, and has since been inspired by a number of great teachers and supportive parents who helped him reach that decision.
“I had a lot of good teachers that kind of helped me decide,” Grube said. “They seemed fun and interesting and I thought, ‘This seems like something I could enjoy doing.'”
Grube said it was hard to choose a favorite teacher, but two in particular stood out.
“My ninth-grade math teacher was probably one of my favorites–Mr. Signori,” Grube said. “After him I had Mr. Castilline. They both showed me that, yeah, you can actually be kind of fun in math.”
Grube, does more than just teach at MGM: he’s also the varsity girl’s soccer coach. He said that the most rewarding thing about coaching is getting to see how his players progress through the years.
“I didn’t quite expect it at first, but that was the part I really started to enjoy, was getting to see that progress that they’re making.” Grube said. “Usually we’re going to see someone for several years, whereas normally in the classroom you see someone for a semester or a year and they move on past you. You don’t get to see their progress every year.”
Grube has been playing soccer since he was four-years old. Like many young players, he excelled in other sports as well, but he knew soccer was the one that stood out. He was a goalkeeper from day one.
“I kind of always tended to play in goal,” Grube said. “My brother was a forward, so anytime we were playing around, he would always tell me to go stand over there so he could shoot. So I just kind of naturally developed that rivalry with him and I think that ended up playing to some of my strengths. Probably somewhere around 5th or 6th grade I started really playing competitively in goal and that was where I got my first taste of really enjoying the higher competition of being in goal.”
That higher level of competition is something Grube is always looking for. He said that his favorite thing about playing for AFC Mobile is being a part of a high-level, competitive team for the first time since he was in college.
“That’s been the best thing for me, just being able to be out there and really push myself to play better and have a bunch of guys who are trying to do the same thing and trying to really build soccer in this area,” Grube said.
This weekend, AFC Mobile will be honoring the educators of our community by hosting our first Teacher Appreciation Night. All school employees will be admitted free of charge with a school ID. General admission tickets are only $5. As always, kids 12 and under are admitted free. Kickoff against the Louisiana Fire will be Saturday, June 24th at 7 p.m. at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex off Michael Boulevard near Airport and I-65. Come support your local grassroots soccer team and join us in honoring our educators!
