Varsity Football coach Brendan McCarthy begins coaching and teaching at a whole new level. After working 15 years coaching at Cedar Park Middle School, McCarthy started the school year coaching football and teaching at the high school level.

McCarthy began his new position coaching safeties for the football team. Although McCarthy has experience coaching football and teaching, he begins to learn and adjust to a new level of intensity. 

“The intensity is a lot higher here,” McCarthy said. “I was coaching P.E. and track and now I am teaching a class, so the curriculum is a lot more intense. In football it’s a lot more fast paced and having to win is a lot more important, and there is [also] a lot more pressure because of the level of play. Whereas, the middle school was more laid back trying to teach them how to do the fundamentals.”

He began working at CPMS in 2006, before working in Round Rock for 5 years. McCarthy began at CPMS with a coaching position, and eventually became athletic coordinator in 2009. Mccarthy continued as the athletic coordinator for 12 years coaching football, track, and P.E.

“As the athletic coordinator, I coordinated with coaches and monitored all of the boy’s sports,” McCarthy said. “Even though I was the athletic coordinator at the middle school, we would come and help out a lot with the football players.”

Throughout McCarthy’s years of coaching at the middle school, teaching became foreign to him because he only coached. The only other class he coached at the middle school was P.E, so stepping into a classroom was a big change for McCarthy. Before teaching, he was a financial advisor and now teaches Money matters and Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance. 

“Teaching has been a struggle,” McCarthy said. “It’s been fun. I love the content I am teaching, but planning for the classroom and coaching football is a big adjustment.”

McCarthy’s coaching experience has changed because he gains more opportunities for coaching and experiences different levels of play than he had seen before. It has also forced McCarthy to become organized with teaching and coaching.

“It’s going from practice to class,” McCarthy said. “To preparing for practice to class to practice to film to planning for class, so I have to be on top of things.”

McCarthy has made many adjustments to his daily life balancing between teaching and football. He also has to adjust to the amount of time spent here at the high school and learn to balance his daily life, school sports, and teaching. McCarthy said he enjoys the new challenges and adjustments of working at a high school and has learned more about coaching.

“I feel like I’m becoming a better coach,” McCarthy said. “I am learning more knowledge about coaching and my knowledge basis and can concentrate on one position. Emotionally it is draining at times from having to plan for class and football, but I love the kids and I’m having a lot of fun.”