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Whether he’s teaching students how to throw and catch, building teamwork in the gym or braving winter temperatures in shorts, physical education teacher Eric Sgarbossa brings energy and intention to every class he teaches. A former collegiate swimmer with a background in kinesiology, Eric believes physical education is about far more than games — it’s about resilience, relationships and learning from both success and failure. We caught up with Eric to talk about his path to NSCD, what he loves most about teaching at NSCD and a few fun facts you might not know.

How does your background as a collegiate swimmer shape the way you approach teaching and coaching today?
Swimming has taught me everything about physical and mental resilience, what it takes to succeed in life and, most importantly, how to fail and learn from those mistakes so I can improve and do better the next time. Those lessons teach me every day that it's OK to learn and it's OK to not always succeed.

What’s one misconception people have about P.E. as a subject?
“You just play games.” While we do get to play games in P.E., there is a lot of teaching around physical skills. There is also a lot of social learning and relationship building with our peers — how to interact, maintain those relationships and develop those people skills. On top of that, there is a lot of emotional learning and understanding ourselves that also happens in PE.

What’s your favorite unit or activity to teach — and why?
Throwing and catching because there are so many games that can be played, and generally speaking, a lot of competitiveness and cooperation come out in our students.

If you weren’t teaching P.E., what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I would be a physical therapist, personal trainer, athletic trainer or a nutritionist.

What tips do you have for keeping kids active in the dead of winter — especially when it’s too cold to go outside, and we’re on Day 300 of indoor recess?
Use your creativity. We used to play a game called Silent Ball, where you would start out with two hands, and everyone would find a spot in the room. If there is a bad throw or a drop, then you are out for the game or until we start a new round. As the game progresses, you can change the difficulty by playing with only your right or left hand. You must be silent and alert, keeping your eyes on the ball, because you never know who might throw it to you.

Be honest: how cold does it actually have to be before you consider wearing pants instead of shorts?
If the real feel is 14 degrees or lower, I should probably be wearing pants. When it is a real feel of 15 degrees or higher, I am good to wear shorts as long as my upper body is properly covered. I did actually play a football game this year with my friends in 20-degree weather and snow. My body was cold for the first two minutes, but after I warmed up and ran around, my body was able to warm up to that temperature, and the snow was melting off my legs. Please still wear the proper clothes, friends! Sometimes I am a little too bold!

What do you love most about working with NSCD students?
I like that I teach all divisions of the school. I get to see all students in every grade and get to know the whole school. This also brings a lot of opportunities for me to meet the entire community and interact with faculty and staff across campus. I enjoy getting to know all of you!!!