{"id":16412,"date":"2026-02-24T19:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/?p=16412"},"modified":"2026-02-25T19:47:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T19:47:30","slug":"leading-on-the-court-and-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/2026\/02\/24\/leading-on-the-court-and-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading on the court and in the classroom\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Cole Byerly ’26, co-editor-in-chief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Gigi Guay, leadership looks the same whether she is holding a tennis racket or standing at the front of a third-grade classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a co-captain of the LVC\u2019s women\u2019s tennis team, Guay has spent time leading teammates, communicating expectations and helping manage practices. Those same skills became essential during her student teaching placement at Palmyra Area School District, where she worked with third-grade students and quickly had to use her voice in the classroom her senior year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a co-captain, I\u2019ve definitely been able to have more confidence with talking to a group of people and organizing practices, which works alongside the classroom very well,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She found that teaching required the same structure and preparation as athletics. Even though the classroom environment is very different from the tennis court, planning ahead and staying organized helped her feel confident in both settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw myself having a similar format to practices in student teaching, using lesson plans and mapping out what I wanted to do and when,\u201d Guay said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing practices, matches and lesson planning pushed Guay to manage her time carefully. While the schedule was exhausting, she appreciated being able to commit fully to both tennis and teaching, two areas she is very passionate about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a challenge, but a good challenge, because it allowed me to improve my time management skills,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her experience as an athlete helped her connect with students through ideas like growth mindset, teamwork and perseverance. Guay often used sports as a way to create small connections, making lessons more personal and engaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like I have confidence within the classroom in general, but being an athlete allowed me to have more relatable moments with my students,\u201d Guay said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By having experience with team dynamics, Guay was prepared to handle conflict in the classroom. She emphasized collaboration and shared goals, lessons she learned through being part of a competitive team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking together and having a common goal is important to success,\u201d Guay said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After completing her student teaching placement, Guay has continued working with children as a substitute teacher at the same school district. She said she looks forward to meeting and connecting with her students throughout her career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what motivates me the most is how\u00a0rewarding of\u00a0a process it is and the connections I make with students,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching her younger sisters grow sparked her interest in education early on. Shadowing one of her sister\u2019s teachers helped confirm her career path, and LVC\u2019s hands-on education program gave her the experience she was looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen my sisters were about 5, with a ten-year age gap from me to them, I saw first-hand how young students develop in education,\u201d Guay said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite tennis being an individual sport, Guay believes collaboration is vital. As a captain, she hopes she creates a space for support and encouragement, values she now brings into her classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI tell my students a lot that tennis is an individual sport, but you\u2019d be surprised how often you have to collaborate with teammates,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike tennis, where outcomes can often be anticipated, teaching requires constant adaptability. Guay said learning to adjust to the unexpected has been one of the most important lessons kids have taught her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKids taught me that you never know what to expect,\u201d Guay said. \u201cI learned to embrace the unexpected.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

College athletics helped shape her approach to leadership, patience and connection, traits she will be able to apply in her entire career. The lessons she learned on the court now define how she shows up for her students.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I\u2019d be a similar teacher, but being an athlete helped shape who I am as a person,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helped enhance who I am and give me experiences to share and connect with my students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guay plans to continue substitute teaching and will be seeking a full-time education job post-graduation.\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cole Byerly ’26, co-editor-in-chief For Gigi Guay, leadership looks the same whether she is holding a tennis racket or standing at the front of a third-grade classroom.  As a co-captain of the LVC\u2019s women\u2019s tennis team, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16413,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-front-page"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16412"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16443,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16412\/revisions\/16443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}