Thursday, October 1, 2026
When I grew up in Suffolk County in the 1980s, baseball was king. From an early age, you played Little League, pickup games on the old LILCO properties and neighborhood schoolyards, and countless wiffle ball games.
As a teacher, I coached interscholastic baseball, and as a father, I coached Little League, softball and travel baseball. There’s nothing quite like coaching your own children and their friends. The smell of freshly cut grass brings me back to evenings spent teaching fundamentals and helping young people become better teammates while becoming better versions of themselves.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the rise of lacrosse, the fastest game on two feet. Over the past 15 years, with four kids playing lacrosse, I’ve watched well over a thousand games in more than a dozen states. Youth tournaments, high school rivalries and even a state championship have become part of our family’s story.
Although baseball and lacrosse are very different sports, they’ve taught me many of the same things about learning. Some of education’s greatest lessons extend far beyond the walls of a classroom.
The first lesson is that learning requires repetition and small, consistent habits. No one becomes a great hitter after one batting practice or a great passer after one lacrosse drill. Improvement comes from doing the same things over and over until they become second nature. Some days the progress is obvious. Other days, it’s nearly invisible. Over time, however, the growth becomes undeniable.
Schools work the same way. Students don’t become strong readers, confident mathematicians or skilled writers overnight. Great teachers understand that mastery takes patience, consistency and practice. Sometimes we expect students to learn faster than we would ever expect athletes to improve.
The second lesson is that mistakes are essential. One of the fascinating things about baseball is that the best hitters fail most of the time. Getting a hit three out of every 10 at-bats is considered outstanding. In lacrosse, players miss open shots, throw poor passes and make defensive mistakes in every game. No coach expects perfection. Coaches expect growth. After a mistake, they ask what happened, what can be learned, and what should happen differently next time.
Schools should approach learning the same way. When students fear mistakes, they stop taking risks. When mistakes become opportunities to grow, students become more resilient, more confident and more willing to challenge themselves.
The third lesson is that confidence often comes before competence. One of my favorite moments in youth sports is watching a coach encourage a player to try something he or she isn’t yet sure is possible. The coach believes first, and that belief matters.
Students often borrow confidence from the adults around them until they develop confidence of their own. A teacher’s encouragement, a parent’s support or a coach’s belief can change how a young person sees him or herself. Sometimes people need someone else to believe in them before they learn to believe in themselves.
The final lesson is that everyone has a role. Championship teams aren’t built around one player. They’re built around players who understand that every role matters. Some score goals. Others make defensive stops, win faceoffs, encourage teammates, or simply bring positive energy every day.
Schools are no different. Every student matters. Every teacher matters. Every custodian, secretary, bus driver, cafeteria worker, teaching assistant, coach, and administrator contributes to the experience our students have each day. Strong schools are built by people who understand that while their responsibilities differ, their purpose is the same.
Looking back, I’ve realized something important. I thought I was raising athletes. What I was really doing was helping to raise adults.
Schools carry that responsibility every day. We certainly want students to master academic content, but we also want them to become kind, resilient, collaborative people who continue learning long after they leave our classrooms.
Years from now, most students won’t remember every assignment they completed or every test they took. They’ll remember the people who believed in them, challenged them, and helped them discover what they were capable of becoming.
Perhaps that’s why baseball and lacrosse have taught me so much about education. Neither game was ever just about winning. They were always about helping young people become the very best version of themselves.
Chris Zublionis, Ed.D., superintendent of the North Shore School District since 2022, became superintendent of the Plainedge district last month.
