As a young child, Terri Lynne Peacock was always involved in sports and her family played an important role in supporting and encouraging her to be involved in sports like gymnastics, softball and volleyball.
But it was not until after she had the opportunity to work as a substitute elementary physical education teacher at Brewton Elementary that she realized that a job with a sports background was the career path she was wanted to take.
That career choice for the 24-year-old Brewton native and T.R. Miller graduate has bloomed into a job with the Daleville City School system as a P.E. teacher. She has also landed a job as the head softball and volleyball coach for the Daleville Lady Warhawks.
“Volleyball and softball are both sports that I am very passionate about, and I value the opportunity that Daleville High School has provided me,” Peacock said. “However, playing the game and coaching the game are very different. It will be a challenge, but I am very excited about entering the coaching arena. I love Brewton and moving away is going to be very difficult, but I have to go where opportunities are available. The administration at DHS has been wonderful and very welcoming. I am excited about working with their students and starting my career as a teacher and coach.”
But while she embraces her new job as a teacher and a coach, her career choice almost went down a different path than education.
As a kinesiology major at the University of Alabama, Peacock juggled with whether to go in to physical therapy or physical education.
“I did many hours of interning at hospitals and clinics in the Tuscaloosa area and just really never developed a passion for physical therapy,” Peacock said. “It was just OK. I was accepted into a PTA program in Birmingham and an alternative education master’s degree program at AUM following my graduation from UA in 2010. I had a big decision to make.”
That is when Peacock was approached with the opportunity to work as a substitute elementary P.E. teacher at Brewton Elementary.
“This opportunity made it easier for me to make my decision to enter the master’s degree program at AUM,” Peacock said. “Coach (Greg) White invited me to assist with volleyball and softball as a volunteer this last season, and I became hooked. I had so much fun being a part of a team again — especially a T.R. Miller team. I have also been doing some private hitting lessons with some of the young girls in the community. I also helped develop and teach the Fit Girl program at the Brewton YMCA.”
Along with helping White coach volleyball and softball last season, Peacock interned at Brewton Elementary from January to March and Brewton Middle School from March to May.
“I learned so much from (P.E. teacher) Kim Owens about managing and running a physical education program,” Peacock said. “She and coach White do an excellent job of teaching and managing the PE program at BES. At BMS, I worked with coach (Jim) Hart and coach (Eddie) Brundidge. The new middle school is a fantastic facility and coach Hart provided me the flexibility to experiment with teaching different types of units. I definitely learned a lot about working with middle school-aged children.”
As an intern, Peacock said she learned a lot about classroom management, preparing units and time management.
“As a first year teacher and coach, I hope to take some of the lessons and techniques I have learned from my mentors to help me have a successful year with the students and athletes at Daleville High School,” she said.
Peacock, who spent all 13 years of her education in the Brewton City School
System, graduated from T.R. Miller High School in 2006. She attended Jefferson Davis Community College on a softball scholarship her first year (2006-2007), but due to injury retired from the sport and graduated in 2009. She received the presidential scholarship from JDCC, which led her to the University of Alabama where she graduated in 2010 with an exercise science degree with a concentration in fitness, nutrition, and business. In the spring of 2011, Peacock began her master’s in education degree at Auburn University at Montgomery and will graduate this summer.
While Peacock is going into her first year of being a teacher, education runs in her family.
“My mother, Sharon Peacock, was a teacher at T.R. Miller High school for 22 years and a coach for five years,” Peacock said. “She coached me in volleyball all four years and softball for one. Volleyball made its debut at Miller my freshman year, so it was a major learning experience for the both of us. My sister, Jamie Peacock and I played softball together for three years at T.R. Miller. We were both on the team that made it to state back in 2004. That is a special memory for the two of us.”
Peacock, who said growing up as a student athlete at T.R. Miller was “awesome,” also said it influenced her decision to going into coaching.
“T.R. Miller is a special place — the pride, traditions, coaches, teachers and staff have definitely influenced me as a person,” she said. “These values will carry over into my coaching career. One thing I definitely learned that has always stayed with me is that winning is not everything, but playing to win with character and heart is extremely important. I believe in teaching the fundamentals so that every athlete has a better advantage on the playing field. I also believe in playing with class. I am sure that I will find myself using motivational and coaching strategies I learned from coach Jamie Riggs, coach White, and coach Peacock.”
Peacock said when Riggs was her softball coach, he once told her, “Terri Lynne, you have taught me many things about coaching.” But Peacock now says the same thing about Riggs.
“He has also taught me many things, not only about coaching but about life,” she said. “I hope that one day I will be able to look back and reflect on my career and see that I have made a positive impact on my students and athletes like coach Riggs. I would love to see myself teaching and coaching at my alma mater one day. Right now, I need to gain some experience and learn more about the coaching process so that I will be of more value to T.R. Miller in the future. I am sure I will be calling coach White for volleyball and softball advice.”
So what are Peacock’s expectations and goals going to be in her first school year as a real teacher and coach?
Peacock said, that initially, her chief goal is to assess the programs and determine how to improve them.
“My emphasis will be to do a lot of fundamental work with the female athletes, as well as conditioning,” she said. “I am sure there will be a lot of trials and errors. My ultimate goal is to take the programs from where they are and help them improve. I will be teaching three P.E. classes on the block schedule and have the fourth block for athletics. I have always enjoyed participating in fitness and sports and hope to provide my students with opportunities in class that will motivate them to engage in lifelong fitness activities. I have no doubt that I will be in survival mode this first year. I still have a lot to learn.”
Peacock replaces former volleyball and softball coach Katelyn Thomas. Thomas led the Lady Hawks’ volleyball team to a Class 3A, Regional A Tournament appearance last season.
Peacock said her advice to anyone looking to go into coaching and teaching would be to follow what you are passionate about.
“If you love it, you are going to work hard at it and success will follow,” she said. “Teaching and coaching require a lot of patience, time, sacrifice and commitment. I do want to say a big thanks to Brewton City Schools for allowing me to intern under such great leadership. Coach White and Coach Owens have taught me so many things about the classroom and coaching. I am going to miss so many of the students and children that I made special relationships with. Brewton and T.R. Miller will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Peacock is the daughter of Terry and Sharon Peacock of Brewton.