Ryan Pearman looks only a couple years older than a high school kid. And this year he is in high school. But as a teacher, not as a student.
Mr. Pearman is one of this year’s newest members of the OVS faculty, teaching Algebra 1, Math Intensive, and ESL History. He also helps run the athletic program and this spring he’ll help coach baseball.
But while he teaches many classes at the Upper Campus, he didn’t always want to be an educator. Mr. Pearman is from Sacramento, California and graduated last spring from Clarke University in Iowa. How did some high school student from Sacramento end up in Iowa?
It turns out it’s all about baseball.
Mr. Pearman first picked up a baseball at the age of four and has been playing ever since, going up through Tee-ball and Little League and ultimately playing in high school, where he was a four-year varsity letterman.
He earned a baseball scholarship to Clarke University because of his outstanding performance as a player at Solano Community College, where he attended for two years.
After graduating from college, he worked as a construction worker, a server, a bartender, and an assistant baseball coach before coming to OVS.
But he’s not just about baseball. At Upper this fall, he is helping coach the flag football team.
“He is really experienced,” said junior Justin Huang, who plays on the team. “Mr. Pearman carries out good demonstrations of warm-up techniques to make you a better athlete in flag football training.”
Aside from football coaching, he also is aware of the tendencies of other sports at OVS. Mr. Pearman thinks cross-country is a really competitive team while many other sports like volleyball strive to be competitive. He hasn’t been working at OVS for very long, but he already has captured every detail about the sports teams and is always aware of their movements.
One fun fact about Mr. Pearman is his friendship with Connor Floyd, the son of the current Head of School Craig Floyd. Mr. Pearman was Connor’s roommate and played baseball with him when they were in college. When Mr. Pearman graduated, he became a coach at Clarke University as well and actually coached Connor for a year.
Mr. Pearman said he looks forward to the future of OVS and its sports program. And he looks forward to guiding the baseball team when the spring season starts.
“I haven’t been here very long… baseball seems like they have a nice tradition here, ” Mr. Pearman says. “I look forward to coaching.”