Changing careers

This isn’t quite goodbye, but it sure feels that way.

I truly love my job. Yet, after working at The Herald since late 2002 — including nearly seven memorable years as a full-time high school sportswriter — I’ve decided to begin a new adventure.

Starting Monday, I’m going b

ack to school to become a teacher.

Trust me: My decision isn’t a hasty one. I’ve been thinking about doing this for quite awhile and I prepared for this transition (applying to graduate programs, passing entry exams, volunteering, etc.) the past 14 months.

A lot of compelling reasons p

ushed me toward a career change. For one, I’ve had a chance to interact daily with talented, motivated, inspiring student-athletes, and spend time with many remarkable coaches/teachers and administrators who make an incredibly positive impact on students. I admire their efforts and I believe I can make a similar impression; the gratifying experiences I had mentoring local students for their senior-year projects on sportswriting certainly encouraged me.

But there’s another crucial reason that, at age 30, I’m enthusiastically making this change. Here are a few hints: She weighs about 20 pounds, has the most stunningly beautiful blue eyes and instantly cheers me up simply by smiling, giggling or resting her tiny head on my shoulder.

She is Fiona, my daughter.

Fiona, who will celebrate her first birthday in a few weeks, forced me to drastically rethink my priorities. I still enjoy almost everything about covering high school sports — it’s a fun, fast-paced gig that allows me to be creative and interact with an amazing array of wonderful people, both in the community and in my office.

But the main downside is working so many nights and weekends. Before Fiona came along, my supremely understanding wife and I made my oddball schedule work. But now that I’m a dad, I want a career that’s equally fulfilling but hopefully more stable and conducive to family life.

I’m not naïve. I know teaching will be extremely demanding and challenging, and it’s currently a rough field to break into. But as a teacher I’ll be able to spend more time with my wife and little Fiona, instead of hovering over my laptop computer at 10 p.m. in a chilly stadium press box or a deserted, dead-silent gym or the cramped passenger seat of my car, frantically typing my game story to meet deadline.

Memories of those frequent nerveracking, isolating late nights aside, the closer I get to starting the Master In Teaching Program at Seattle University, the more I try to appreciate my last few assignments as a full-time sportswriter. In the fall, I found myself lamenting my final trek to events that have long been enjoyable parts of my annual routine:

“I can’t believe this is the last time I’ll cover the state cross country meet!”

“Wow … no more trips to the Tacoma Dome for the state football championships.”

And, more recently, I realized with sadness:

“This is the last time I’ll hear Ed Aliverti’s passionate, booming voice fire up the massive crowd before the finals at Mat Classic.”

There’s nothing quite like covering high school sports. I had many opportunities, mostly during the summer, to cover pro athletes. Although fun, those experiences never matched the immense enjoyment I got from writing about high school athletes, who generally compete because of their pure love of the sport and who inspire and unite their communities.

As I type this, so many unforgettable names are floating through my head: Josh King, Dakota Bradley, Chad Skiles, Theresa Nicholas, Ike Ditzenberger. With the exception of Ike, their names might not be familiar to you, but I will never forget them. They constantly inspire me to be better, to try harder, to appreciate life. To me, they are bigger heroes than world-famous athletes like Ichiro, LeBron and Peyton.

At The Herald, I had the honor of working with and learning from dozens of talented, supportive co-workers. I’m especially grateful to Herald Sports Editor Kevin Brown, who hired me and made me a better writer by carefully pointing out my weaknesses and pushing me to think bigger. And I am forever indebted to the great Larry Henry, whose poetic, thoughtful writing reeled me in time after time, and whose steady encouragement gave me the confidence to reach my potential.

Now, as I take a new path, I can’t wait to pay it forward by teaching students, whether they are aspiring writers or simply struggling with an autobiographical essay. I hope to teach English and journalism, either at the middle school or high school level. But, without a doubt, my dream is to teach English Language Learners (ELL).

For over a year, I have volunteered once a week with ELL students at Cascade High School in Everett. Welcomed with open arms by energetic ELL teacher Wanda Kramer, I had a life-changing experience mentoring students who, in most cases, have lived in the United States for just a few years. Brave and predominantly hungry to learn, they came here with their families from all over the world — Eritrea, Iraq, Ukraine, Mexico and many other countries — in hopes of finding a better life.

Much like the determined high school athletes I was fortunate to write about, Cascade High’s ELL students motivate me to be a better man, to learn more about the world and to do everything I can to help them achieve their ambitions.

Though my career change is already in motion, this isn’t goodbye forever, as I implied at the start of this column. I plan to keep writing part time for The Herald, at least while I’m in school. After covering the Class 4A and Class 3A state basketball tournaments this week at the Tacoma Dome, I’ll drastically cut down my hours but I’ll keep writing a Timeout profile once a week and contribute to the Double Team blog.

In the meantime, thanks to YOU — athletes, parents, coaches, administrators, officials, volunteers — for making my time at The Herald so rewarding. It’s been a great ride, one I know will help me as I take on new challenges.

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam and follow Cane on Twitter at MikeCaneHerald.