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Mike Cartee begins second career at LHS
Now, three grown, married children and two grandchildren later, Cartee will enter the P.E. field at his alma mater, Leroy High School, to begin a second career. He has accepted an elementary P.E./assistant football coach position at Leroy where he will teach seven P.E. classes, assist with football and be the varsity girls basketball coach. Additionally, his face will be the first one students see in the mornings when they disembark the buses, because he has also been assigned morning bus duty. When asked about his expectations concerning his new career, Cartee said, "I want to help children develop motor skills by jumping, throwing, catching and running; and I want the experience to be fun for them at the same time. These are skills that students will carry on into high school and into life." He added that "P.E. used to mean only a coaching job, but now P.E. means more physical skills and there is emphasis on physical fitness." He said he is aware of the emphasis from the state and the federal departments of education to prevent obesity in young people. Cartee said the career change was a hard decision to make. "When the job became available, I had two weeks to decide." His wife, Sue said, "Well, he's also making a switch with football, too; he's going from statistician to assistant coach." She added, "You know he hadn't missed a football game in 25 years until our son Gabe's wedding. In fact, the wedding was scheduled on an LHS open weekend, but one of the hurricanes rearranged the schedule and Mike had to miss that game." When asked what he would do with all that time off in the summer, Cartee quickly said "golf," but added that he knows Sue will have lots of work lined up for him at their home. The Cartees are restoring a turn of the century home in Leroy. Cartee's oldest grandson, Walker, is in first grade this year. "He's excited; however, we don't know if he'll call me Coach Cartee, Coach Mike, Coach Pop or just Pop," said Cartee about his grandson's reacation to the prospect of his grandfather being at school everyday.
Larry Massey, LHS principal had this to say about his new P.E. teacher/assistant football coach: "Mike is such an upbeat cheerful guy. It is going to be great for him to be around our young people. People often don't get a chance to go back and take 'the road not taken,' but Mike has."
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