When asked about something that inspired him in life, Mr. Epstein said “that is Bean.” He was inspired to coach by Mr. Bean, a former Jemicy teacher. You might think that Mr. Epstein is just another hard teacher but in reality, he is an inspiration. He is the kind of person that will listen to whatever you want to talk about.
A former teacher, Mr. Bean, inspired Mr. Epstein to begin coaching for Jemicy many years ago. Mr. Epstein began by coaching the soccer team for 12 years. He started coaching soccer because they needed a coach and Bean asked him to fill the role. Then when Jemicy introduced girls basketball he started doing that instead of soccer. When girls basketball was just beginning, he knew the girls that were going to be on the team from his role at Camp Jemicy. He loves coaching the team and he always has a lot of fun. There were a lot of great memories about the basketball team and their travels to and from games. He said “If we lose or win the girls are just having fun and being goofy.” As a coach, he makes an impact, and he wants his players to get better and stronger.
This year the women’s basketball team is getting bigger. He said,” there will be two teams but the second team is just going to work on skills and anything in between.” He kept up with coaching because of the players and he notes that “it is different in a classroom setting.” He enjoys the differences between the two and is able to develop “connections with students that you won’t get in a classroom setting.”
Mr. Epstein has been at Jemicy for 16 years. He teaches social studies and he is the Upper School Prep chair. He started teaching 21 years ago, but he didn’t start teaching right away after college. He went to Frostburg State University (the “Harvard” of Western Maryland, according to Mr. Epstein) and that is where he met his wife who he is still married to today. Frostburg State University is located in Frostburg, Maryland, and is a small public school with Division III sports teams.
Mr. Epstein may not have always been the fun-loving teacher we all know today. In high school, “I was a jerk.” He said, “that he was no different than the kids here but he didn’t go to a school that understands his learning disabilities.” He even said,” I was a class clown.” He changed as he grew up and matured and is still growing as a person.
When asked about his overall experience at Jemicy, Mr. Epstein says, ” I love it here.” Some perceive him as a difficult teacher, but this is only because he wants to inspire his students to success both in the classroom and on the court.
MOOSE PRINTS 
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