Swinging from golf course to classroom

Cherise Magtoto

On August 3, Advanced Placement English Language teacher Brian Bane lectures his 5th period class. He discusses the excerpt, “All Art is Propaganda,” with his students.

With the tournaments that Bane participates in, the planning and preparation for the competition is similar to preparing for an academic test. Ultimately, both the competition and a test carry a great amount of pressure. A test and a competition are both the chance to take everything that you’ve learned and put it into practice.

“I can take what I’ve learned from the sport, the competition, studying the sport psychology and bring that into the classroom, [it] is similar to preparing for an exam, thinking about mindsets and learning how to deal with pressure and anxiety,” Bane said

Bane preaches this mindset in both the classroom and his personal life. He transfers the skills he learns while preparing and competing for and in tournaments to his daily life as a teacher. The use of coping skills and experiences helps him better understand and support his students.

“I’ve learned through experience and research how to handle pressure and anxiety, how to share experiences like those with my students shows how to deal with it, whether it’s a sport or an AP exam,” Bane said. 

However, like most people, Bane doesn’t always play golf alone. Italian language and culture teacher Robert Pirazzini and History teacher James Goodwin have both played with Bane in the past.

Bane and Pirazzini have been friends for years and although they don’t get to play together as often, Pirazzini still has plenty to say about Bane’s abilities. 

“It can be a little intimidating to play with [Bane] because he is so good and he gives pointers, which I find very helpful. He really changed my game, the last time we played,” Pirazzini said.

Bane helps Pirazzini with a simple change to his playing by loosening his grip on the club. This allowed Pirazzini to hit the ball more freely and prevent him from limiting his shoulder. As Bane continues to play golf everyday, he shares his realization of why he chose to stick with it.

“I would say it’s the perfect sport. There’s always something you can get better at to improve on or work on. There is the individual nature,” Bane said. “If you work at it, you are going to improve and get better. To me, it is what grabbed onto me. I knew [playing golf] was something I wanted to do. It became my passion.”

Even though Bane loves golf, he realized that his larger goal was to become a teacher. While competing on mini-tours in his 20’s, he also worked as a substitute teacher within the  Sweetwater Union High School District, confirming his enjoyment of teaching.

“The moment I decided to be a teacher full-time was when I was working as a sub one day, and I got a really good feeling about teaching as a career,” Bane said. “I went home that day and surprised my wife by telling her that I had decided to go back to school and get my teaching credential.”

Before becoming a teacher, Bane’s goal was to make it on the Professional Golfers’ Association of America Tour, the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers. Though he did not make it, he feels glad that he gave his dream a shot and never gave up.

“I’m not afraid of failing, but I’m terrified of not trying and looking back at my life with regret,” Bane said.

“I suspect [Mr. Bane] has goals in the classroom and he has goals outside of the classroom. My experience is that people who are goal oriented find ways to achieve those goals.” Goodwin said. “If he has those kinds of goals outside the classroom, I suspect that those principles would lend themselves to teaching as well.”

Bane is a very successful golfer, traveling all over the country and around the world to play golf. Although Bane appreciates his time of teaching students, he does find that playing golf and devoting time to his personal life is essential.

“I think that it is important for students to know that teachers have lives outside of the classroom, and if I tell students that they should chase their dreams, I’d better be willing to chase mine as well,” Bane said.

Even though Bane has a passion for both golf and teaching, they are not mutually exclusive. His knowledge of golf and mastery of patience that is needed to succeed in the game heavily benefits his teaching style because it helps him come up with productive decisions and help others by leading them to success. 

“The way that I teach, the courses that I teach and my life as a competitive athlete can’t be separated. I only know how to do things one way, and that’s the best that I can. That may be cheesy, but it’s true,” Bane said.